Displaying an electronic document

ABSTRACT

An electronic document includes a set of pages. A display is used that is configured to sense movement of a movable object in a vertical direction relative to a screen. In response to sensing movement using the display, a page corresponding to the electronic document is displayed on the screen in accordance with the sensed movement.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and claims the benefit of JapanesePatent Application Serial No. JP2011-267709 titled “METHOD FORDISPLAYING ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT, AND DEVICE AND COMPUTER PROGRAMTHEREFOR,” which was filed in the Japan Patent Office on Dec. 7, 2011,and which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Generally, the present invention relates to a technique for displayingan electronic document. More specifically, the present invention relatesto a method, device, computer program and computer program product fordisplaying an electronic document with a plurality of pages using adisplay able to sense vertical movement relative to a screen.

Portable information processing terminals such as smart phones, cellphones, e-book terminals, personal digital assistants (PDAs), hand-heldcomputers, tablet terminals, netbooks, tablet/personal computers andmobile notebook computers have proliferated in recent years. Theseportable terminals have small, built-in screens.

Some portable terminals have a display incorporating a touch panelfunction, and this touch panel function is intended to improveoperability. The touch panel function is achieved by incorporating apressure sensor, proximity sensor or a combination of the two into thedisplay.

Because these terminals are portable, they have a wide variety of usesin business activities, sales activities, sales promotion activities,and activities at construction sites, worksites, manufacturing plantsand medical facilities. In these fields, electronic documents with alarge amount of information on a single page or electronic documentswith a plurality of pages often have to be displayed on a portableterminal.

For example, a portable terminal may be used to check the blueprints orinstruction manual of a device at a construction site or worksite,consult product pamphlets, sales manuals or sales promotion manualsduring a business activity, sales activity or sales promotion activity,check a process chart for a manufacturing process or a manufacturinginstruction manual at a manufacturing plant, or consult a diagnosticimage, manual for a device, drug information or pathology information ata medical facility.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A method for displaying an electronic document that comprises aplurality of pages includes using a display configured to sense movementof a movable object in a vertical direction relative to a screen; anddisplaying on the screen, in response to sensing movement via thedisplay, a page corresponding to the electronic document in accordancewith the sensed movement.

A system for displaying an electronic document that comprises aplurality of pages includes a display configured to sense movement of amovable object in a vertical direction relative to a screen; a memoryconfigured to store the electronic document; and a processor programmedto: use the display configured to sense movement of the movable objectin the vertical direction relative to the screen; and display on thescreen, in response to sensing movement via the display, a pagecorresponding to the electronic document in accordance with the sensedmovement.

A computer program product for displaying an electronic document thatcomprises a plurality of pages includes a computer readable storagemedium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, thecomputer readable program code comprising computer readable program codeconfigured to: use a display configured to sense movement of a movableobject in a vertical direction relative to a screen; and display on thescreen, in response to sensing movement via the display, a pagecorresponding to the electronic document in accordance with the sensedmovement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration foran information processing terminal used to realize a device inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a functional block diagram of a device preferably having ahardware configuration according to FIG. 1 and also including a movingdistance-detecting sensor in the vertical direction of an objecttouching the screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a functional block diagram of a device preferably having ahardware configuration according to FIG. 1 and also including a pressuresensor able to detect the pressure applied by an object touching thescreen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A shows an example of an electronic document with a single unit ofdisplay data (office layout diagram) that may be used in an embodimentof the present invention, and an example in which this electronicdocument is divided into eight units, the divided page data ispaginated, and the pages are arranged according to the page number.

FIG. 3B shows an example of an electronic document with a single unit ofdisplay data (map) that may be used in an embodiment of the presentinvention, and an example in which this electronic document is dividedinto four units, the divided page data is paginated, and the pages arearranged according to the page number.

FIG. 3C shows an example of an electronic document with a single unit ofdisplay data (blueprint of a building) that may be used in an embodimentof the present invention, and an example in which this electronicdocument is divided into four units, the divided page data is paginated,and the pages are arranged according to the page number.

FIG. 3D shows an example of an electronic document with a single unit ofdisplay data (aeronautical chart) that may be used in an embodiment ofthe present invention, and an example in which this electronic documentis divided into four units, the divided page data is paginated, and thepages are arranged according to the page number.

FIG. 3E shows an example of an electronic document with a single unit ofdisplay data (image of an electronic circuit board) that may be used inan embodiment of the present invention, and an example in which thiselectronic document is divided into four units, the divided page data ispaginated, and the pages are arranged according to the page number.

FIG. 3F shows an example of an electronic document with a plurality ofpages (presentation images) that may be used in an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3G shows an example of the electronic document with a plurality ofpages in FIG. 3F (presentation images) arranged according to the pagenumber.

FIG. 3H shows an example of an electronic document with a plurality ofpages (image of an electronic circuit board) that may be used in anembodiment of the present invention, and an example of the electronicdocument arranged according to the page number.

FIG. 3I is an example of an electronic document with a plurality ofpages (PDF file of a manual) that may be used in an embodiment of thepresent invention showing the initial page of each section of theelectronic document.

FIG. 3J shows an example in which the initial page of each section ofthe electronic document with a plurality of pages in FIG. 3I (PDF fileof a manual) is paginated, and the initial pages are arranged accordingto the page number.

FIG. 3K is an example of an electronic document with a plurality ofpages (PDF file of a patent specification) that may be used in anembodiment of the present invention showing the initial page of eachsection of the electronic document.

FIG. 3L shows an example in which the initial page of each section ofthe electronic document with a plurality of pages in FIG. 3K (PDF fileof a patent specification) is paginated, and the pages are arrangedaccording to the page number.

FIG. 4A shows an example of an electronic document (a document includingdrawings) that may be used in an embodiment of the present invention inwhich pages are transparently displayed on a screen.

FIG. 4B shows an example of an electronic document (an image of anelectronic circuit board) that may be used in an embodiment of thepresent invention in which pages are transparently displayed on ascreen.

FIG. 5A shows an example of an electronic document with a single unit ofdisplay data (an image of an electronic circuit board) that may be usedin an embodiment of the present invention in which this electronicdocument is divided, the divided page data is paginated, and the pagedata is arranged according to the page number; and shows an example inwhich pages are selected and fixed using a moving distance-detectingsensor of the pages (for example, a proximity sensor), and the fixedpages are transparently displayed.

FIG. 5B shows an example in which another page is selected using themoving distance-detecting sensor, and the fixed page is transparentlydisplayed in order to compare the page fixed in FIG. 5A to the otherpage.

FIG. 6A shows an example of the page data of an electronic document witha plurality of pages (images of an electronic circuit board) in anembodiment of the present invention arranged according to page number;and an example in which screens are selected and fixed using a pressuresensor, and the fixed pages are transparently displayed.

FIG. 6B shows an example in which pages are selected in a transparentstate using a pressure sensor after the pages fixed in FIG. 6A have beentransparently displayed in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7A is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention showingthe process for dividing an electronic document with a single unit ofdisplay data, turning the divisions into page data, arranging the pagedata according to page number, and importing the page data arrangedaccording to page number; or arranging the page data in an electronicdocument with a plurality of pages according to page number, andimporting the arranged page data.

FIG. 7B is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention showingthe process for importing the initial page data of each section in anelectronic document composed of a plurality of sections.

FIG. 8A is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention showinga process for comparing a page fixed using the moving distance-detectingsensor to a bookmarked page in a transparent state.

FIG. 8B is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention used toexplain in detail the transparent display in the flowchart shown in FIG.8A.

FIG. 8C is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention thatmay be used in the flowchart in FIG. 8A showing a process in which twopages are bookmarked using the moving distance-detecting sensor.

FIG. 8D is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention thatmay be used in the flowchart in FIG. 8A showing a process in which npages are bookmarked using the moving distance-detecting sensor.

FIG. 8E is a flowchart showing the process for displaying in atransparent state pages that were bookmarked in the flowchart shown inFIG. 8C or FIG. 8D.

FIG. 9A is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention showinga process for comparing a page fixed using the pressure sensor to abookmarked page in a transparent state.

FIG. 9B is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention used toexplain in detail the transparent display in the flowchart shown in FIG.9A.

FIG. 9C is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention thatmay be used in the flowchart in FIG. 9A showing a process in which twopages are bookmarked using the pressure sensor.

FIG. 9D is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention thatmay be used in the flowchart in FIG. 9A showing a process in which npages are bookmarked using the pressure sensor.

FIG. 9E is a flowchart showing the process for displaying in atransparent state pages that were bookmarked in the flowchart shown inFIG. 9C or FIG. 9D.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following is a detailed explanation of the present invention withreference to preferred embodiments. However, these embodiments do notlimit the present invention in the scope of the claims, and allcombinations of characteristics explained in the embodiments are notnecessarily required in the technical solution of the present invention.Also, it is possible to embody the present invention in many differentways, and it should be clear to a person of skill in the art thatvarious modifications and improvements may be added to the embodimentsbelow.

In all of the explanation of embodiments, the same elements are denotedby the same reference numbers unless otherwise noted.

The present subject matter provides a technique for displaying anelectronic document with a plurality of pages using a display able tosense movement of a movable object in the vertical direction relative toa screen. The electronic document with a plurality of pages includes asingle unit of display data, which is divided into a plurality ofpaginated units. Several options/embodiments of the present subjectmatter are possible.

First, the present subject matter provides a method for displaying anelectronic document with a plurality of pages using the aforementioneddisplay. This method includes a step in which a page corresponding tothe electronic document is displayed on the screen in accordance withthe sensed movement.

In the embodiment of the present subject matter described below, thesensing of movement in the vertical direction relative to the screen isperformed by a sensor able to detect movement of a movable object in thevertical direction relative to the screen (referred to below as a movingdistance-detecting sensor). In this embodiment of the present subjectmatter, if the sensing of movement in the vertical direction isperformed by a sensor able to detect movement of a movable object in thevertical direction relative to the screen, the step for displaying apage on the screen includes a step for displaying a page correspondingto the electronic document on the screen in accordance with the movingdistance of an object in the vertical direction when an object is withinthe detection range of the moving distance-detecting sensor.

In this embodiment of the present subject matter, the point in thevertical direction farthest from the detection range or within thedetection range at which an object may be present at a predetermineddistance from the screen is set as the initial page, and pages with alarger page number are displayed as the object approaches the screen. Inthis embodiment of the present subject matter, the display step mayfurther include a step for fixing display of the page corresponding tothe electronic document being displayed on the screen in accordance withthe sliding of the object in a predetermined direction within thedetection range of the moving distance-detecting sensor.

In this embodiment of the present subject matter, sensing of movement inthe vertical direction is performed by a sensor able to detect movementin the vertical direction in close proximity to the screen, theelectronic document includes a plurality of sections, the method furtherincludes the execution of a step for detecting the presence of an objectin the detection range of the sensor, and the step for displaying a pageon the screen includes a step for displaying on the screen the initialpage of a section corresponding to the electronic document in accordancewith the moving distance in the vertical direction of the object whenthe object is within the detection range of the sensor. In thisembodiment of the present subject matter, the display step may furtherinclude a step for displaying the initial page of a section displayed onthe screen immediately before sliding of the object in a predetermineddirection within the detection range of the moving distance-detectingsensor. This embodiment of the present subject matter further includes,after the step for displaying the initial page of a section, a step fordisplaying on the screen pages subsequent to the initial page of thesection in accordance with the moving distance of the object in thevertical direction.

In the embodiment of the present subject matter described below, thesensing of movement in the vertical direction relative to the screen isperformed by a sensor able to detect the pressure applied by an objecttouching the screen (referred to hereafter as a pressure sensor). Thispressure sensor is incorporated into the display. In this embodiment,the step for displaying a page on the screen further includes a step fordisplaying a page according to the electronic document on the screen inresponse to pressure applied to the screen by the object when thesensing of movement in the vertical direction relative to the screen isperformed by a pressure sensor.

In this embodiment, the point at which zero pressure is applied to thescreen by the object may be set as the initial page, and pages with alarger page number may be displayed as the pressure increases. In thisembodiment, the display step may further include a step for fixingdisplay of the page corresponding to the electronic document beingdisplayed on the screen in accordance with detection of the objectsliding in a predetermined direction by the pressure sensor. In thisembodiment, the display step may further include a step for displayingon the screen the initial page of a section corresponding to anelectronic document in accordance with the amount of pressure applied tothe screen by the object when the sensing of movement in the verticaldirection is performed by a pressure sensor and the electronic documentis composed of sections. In this embodiment, the display step mayfurther include a step for displaying the initial page of a sectiondisplayed on the screen immediately before sliding in accordance withdetection of the object sliding in a predetermined direction by thepressure sensor. This embodiment further includes, after the step fordisplaying the initial page of a section, a step for displaying on thescreen pages subsequent to the initial page of the section in accordancewith the amount of pressure applied to the screen by the object.

In the embodiment of the present subject matter described below, themethod senses movement in the vertical direction using either a movingdistance-detecting sensor or a pressure sensor. In this embodiment, thedisplay step may further include a step for the transparent display ontop of the fixed page of one or more pages prior to the page number ofthe fixed page, one or more pages subsequent to the page number of thefixed page, or a plurality of pages including a combination of thesepages. Also, the display step in this embodiment further includes a stepfor the transparent display of the fixed page on top of one or morepages prior to the page number of the fixed page, one or more pagessubsequent to the page number of the fixed page, or a plurality of pagesincluding a combination of these pages. In this embodiment, the displaystep further includes, after the fixing step, a step for transparentlydisplaying a bookmarked page in the electronic document on top of thefixed page, or transparently displaying the fixed page on top of thebookmarked page. Also, the display step in this embodiment furtherincludes, after the fixing step, a step for releasing a fixed page whenthe object has been slid in a predetermined horizontal directionrelative to the screen. In this embodiment, pages corresponding to theelectronic document may be displayed so as to gradually accelerate at aconstant rate (ease in) or gradually decelerate at a constant rate (easeout) while advancing through the page numbers in the step for displayinga page on the screen. In this embodiment, the method may further includeexecution of a step for dividing a single unit of display data into aplurality of data sets on the basis of the display size of the screen inaccordance with the reception of an instruction to divide the singleunit of display data, and a step for assigning page numbers to theplurality of divided data sets.

Second, the present subject matter provides a device for displaying anelectronic document with a plurality of pages. This device includes astep in which a page corresponding to the electronic document isdisplayed on the screen in accordance with the sensed movement.

In the device of the embodiment of the present subject matter describedbelow, the sensing of movement in the vertical direction relative to thescreen is performed by a sensor able to detect movement in the verticaldirection of an object in close proximity to the screen (referred tobelow as a moving distance-detecting sensor). In this embodiment, adetecting means connected to the moving distance-detecting sensor maydetect the presence of an object in the detection range of the sensorwhen an object is in the detection range of the movingdistance-detecting sensor, and a display control means may display onthe screen a page corresponding to the electronic document in accordancewith the moving distance of the object in the vertical direction. Inthis embodiment, the display control means may set as the initial pagethe farthest point in the detection range in the vertical direction or apoint at a predetermined distance from the surface within the detectionrange in the vertical direction at which the object may be present, anddisplay pages with a larger page number as the object approaches thescreen.

In this embodiment, the display control means may fix display of thepage corresponding to the electronic document being displayed on thescreen in accordance with detection of the object sliding in apredetermined direction within the range of the movingdistance-detecting sensor. In this embodiment, a detecting means maydetect the presence of an object in the detection range of the sensorwhen movement in the vertical direction is sensed by a movingdistance-detecting sensor and the electronic document is composed ofsections, and a display control means may display on the screen thefirst page of a section corresponding to the electronic document inaccordance with the moving distance of the object in the verticaldirection when the object is present in the detection range of thesensor.

In this embodiment, the display control means may display the initialpage of a section on the screen immediately before sliding of the objectin a predetermined direction within the detection range of the movingdistance-detecting sensor. In this embodiment, the display controlmeans, after the step for displaying the initial page of a section, maydisplay on the screen pages subsequent to the initial page of thesection in accordance with the moving distance of the object in thevertical direction. In the device of the embodiment of the presentsubject matter described below, the sensing of movement in the verticaldirection is performed by a sensor able to detect the pressure appliedby an object touching the screen (referred to hereafter as a pressuresensor). This pressure sensor is incorporated into the display.

In this embodiment, the display control means may display on the screena page corresponding to the electronic document in accordance with theamount of pressure applied by the object to the screen when the sensingof movement in the vertical direction is performed by a pressure sensor.In this embodiment, the display control means may set the point at whichzero pressure is applied to the screen by the object as the initialpage, and pages with a larger page number may be displayed as thepressure increases. In this embodiment, the display control means mayfix display of the page corresponding to the electronic document beingdisplayed on the screen in accordance with detection of the objectsliding in a predetermined direction by the pressure sensor. In thisembodiment, the display control means may display on the screen theinitial page of a section corresponding to an electronic document inaccordance with the amount of pressure applied to the screen by theobject when the sensing of movement in the vertical direction isperformed by a pressure sensor and the electronic document is composedof sections.

In this embodiment, the display control means may display the initialpage of a section on the screen immediately before sliding of the objectin a predetermined direction within the detection range of the pressuresensor. In this embodiment, the display control means, after the stepfor displaying the initial page of a section, may display on the screenpages subsequent to the initial page of the section in accordance withthe amount of pressure applied to the screen by the object.

In the embodiment of the present subject matter described below, thedevice uses either a moving distance-detecting sensor or a pressuresensor depending on the situation. In this embodiment, the displaycontrol means may transparently display on top of the fixed page of oneor more pages prior to the page number of the fixed page, one or morepages subsequent to the page number of the fixed page, or a plurality ofpages including a combination of these pages, or the display controlmeans may transparently display the fixed page on top of one or morepages prior to the page number of the fixed page, one or more pagessubsequent to the page number of the fixed page, or a plurality of pagesincluding a combination of these pages.

In this embodiment, the display control means may, after the fixing,transparently display a bookmarked page in the electronic document ontop of the fixed page, or transparently display the fixed page on top ofthe bookmarked page. Also, the display control means may, after thefixing, release a fixed page when the object has been slid in apredetermined horizontal direction relative to the screen. In thisembodiment, pages corresponding to the electronic document may bedisplayed so as to gradually accelerate or decelerate at a constant ratewhile advancing through the page numbers in the step for displaying apage on the screen. In this embodiment, the device may further include adividing means for dividing a single unit of display data into aplurality of data sets on the basis of the display size of the screen inaccordance with the reception of an instruction to divide the singleunit of display data, and an assigning means for assigning page numbersto the plurality of divided data sets.

Third, the present subject matter provides a device for displaying anelectronic document with a plurality of pages. This device includes adisplay able to sense the movement of a movable object in the verticaldirection relative to a screen, memory able to store the electronicdocument, and a CPU connected to the memory. In this embodiment, eachstep of a method described above is executed by the CPU. In thisembodiment, the CPU reads from the memory and executes a computerprogram for performing each step of a method described above.

Fourth, the present subject matter provides a computer program fordisplaying an electronic document with a plurality of pages using adisplay described above. This computer program is executed by a deviceto perform each step of a method described above and in more detailbelow.

The present subject matter improves the operability of page display byusing a display able to sense vertical movement of a movable objectrelative to a screen, and displaying on the screen a page correspondingto an electronic document with a plurality of pages in accordance withthe sensed movement.

The present subject matter also makes page display operations easier byusing a moving distance-detecting sensor to display a page correspondingto an electronic document on the screen in accordance with the movingdistance of the object in the vertical direction. The present subjectmatter may also make display operations easier by using a pressuresensor to display a page corresponding to an electric document on thescreen in accordance with the pressure applied to the screen by anobject.

When the present subject matter may not display a single unit of displaydata on the screen, the single unit of display data is divided into aplurality of units and paginated for display. This improves thebrowsability of a single unit of display data.

In the present subject matter, a specific page may be fixed, and anotherpage may be transparently displayed on top of the fixed page or thefixed page transparently displayed on top of another page. This makes iteasier to compare the content of a fixed page to the content of anotherpage for reference purposes.

It should be noted that conception of the present subject matterresulted from a recognition of certain limitations associated with thesmall size of handheld device displays. For example it was determinedthat these portable terminals have small, built-in screens. As a result,the amount of content that may be visibly displayed on the screens ofthese portable terminals is limited by the size of these screens. It wasfurther determined that because the screen on a portable terminal issmall, portable terminals are not good at allowing a user to display anelectronic document with a large amount of information on a single pageor to display and simultaneously browse through the pages of anelectronic document with a large number of pages.

When an electronic document has a plurality of pages, for example, itmay be difficult and time consuming to check the content on a portableterminal because a page turning function has to be used. It is alsodifficult and time consuming to compare the content of the current pageto the content of another page in the electronic document or to recallthe content on a previously referenced page because the screen has to beswitched or a scrolling operation has to be performed to referenceanother page and compare the content. It is also difficult and timeconsuming to reference an electronic document on a portable terminalwhen the data to be referenced does not fit on the display device of aportable terminal, because screen navigation is required.

Therefore, the purpose of the present subject matter is to improve orenhance the operability of the aforementioned operations on a portableterminal.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration foran information processing terminal used to realize a device inaccordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. There areno particular restrictions on the device (101) as long as it is aninformation processing terminal with a display able to sense verticalmovement of a movable object relative to a screen. More specifically,the device (101) is a portable information processing terminal. Theportable information processing terminal may be a smart phone, cellphone, e-book terminal, PDA, hand-held computer, tablet terminal,netbook, tablet/personal computer or mobile notebook computer. However,the terminal is not limited to these examples.

This device (101) includes a computer processing unit (CPU) (102) and amain memory (103), and these are connected to a bus (104). The CPU (102)is preferably based on a 32-bit or 64-bit architecture. A display (106)such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) is connected to the bus (104) viaa display controller (105). The display (106) is used to displayinformation using the appropriate graphic interface from a computerconnected to the network via a communication network and informationfrom software being executed by the computer in order to control thecomputer. A disk (108) such as a silicon disk or hard disk may also beconnected to the bus (104) via a serial advanced technology attachment(SATA) or integrated drive electronics (IDE) controller (107).Optionally, another drive (109) such as a compact disc (CD), digitalvideo disk (DVD) or Blu-Ray Disc® (BD) drive may be connected to the bus(104) via a SATA or IDE controller (107). Optionally, a keyboard (111)and mouse (112) may be connected to the bus (104) via a keyboard/mousecontroller (110) or universal serial bus (USB) bus (not shown), butthese are not required in the embodiment of the present invention.

Programs, such as the operating system, a Java® processing environmentsuch as J2EE®, Java™ programming language applications, Java™ virtualmachines (JVM®), and Java® just-in-time (JIT) compilers, as well asdata, are stored on the disk (108) for download to the main memory.Software allowing for the input and editing of text, and characterconversion software such as a front end processor (FEP) may also bestored in the disk (108) for download to the main memory. The operationsystem may be an operating system that supports a graphical userinterface (GUI) multi-window environment.

If necessary, the drive (109) may be used to install a program on thedisk (108) from a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or BD.

The communication interface (114) may use, for example, an Ethernet(registered trademark) protocol. The communication interface (114) isconnected to a bus (104) via a communication controller (113), andfunctions to physically connect the device (101) to the communicationnetwork (115). This provides a network interface layer for the TCP/IPcommunication protocol in the communication function of the operatingsystem of the device (101). The communication line may be based on awired LAN environment, or based on a wireless LAN environment, forexample, a Wi-Fi standard such as IEEE802.11a/b/g/n.

It should be clear from the above that devices used to embody thepresent invention are not restricted to a particular operating systemenvironment.

FIG. 2A is a functional block diagram of a device (101-1) preferablyhaving a hardware configuration according to FIG. 1 and also including amoving distance-detecting sensor in the vertical direction of an objecttouching the screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.This device (101-1) has a hardware configuration according to FIG. 1.The device (101-1) is equipped with a display means (201), a movingdistance-detecting sensor (202), a detecting means (203), a displaycontrol means (204), a dividing means (205) and an assigning means(206). Alternatively, the device (101-1) may be equipped with a displaymeans (201), a detecting means (203), a display control means (204), adividing means (205) and an assigning means (206), and the device(101-1) connected to a moving distance-detecting sensor (202) that isexternal to the device (101-1). When the moving distance-detectingsensor (202) is external to the device (101-1), the movingdistance-detecting sensor (202) may be connected to the device (101-1)via a wire or wirelessly.

A display means (201) may be built into the device (101-1), or a displaymeans (201) may be connected via a wire or wireless. The display means(201) is preferably built into the device (101-1).

The display means (201) is typically a liquid crystal display device,and a touch panel function is built in.

The display means (201) displays an electronic document. In thisembodiment of the present invention, the electronic document may have aplurality of pages. The plurality of pages may be original to theelectronic document, or a single unit of display data in the originalelectronic document may be automatically divided by the dividing means(205) described below and the divided units paginated.

Here, a “single unit of data” is display data displayed as a single pageon the screen. Whether or not the data fits on the screen depends on thesize and resolution of the display region of the screen. The displaydata may be image data, video data or text data. Examples of “singleunits of data” are shown in FIG. 3A through FIG. 3E below.

The moving distance-detecting sensor (202) is a sensor able to sensemovement of a movable object in the vertical direction relative to thescreen. The sensor may be a proximity sensor, or a sensor with abuilt-in RGB camera, depth sensor and multi-array microphone. Aproximity sensor is a sensor able to detect distance and the movingdirection of an object. Any proximity sensor available to personsskilled in the art may be used. The proximity sensors may be an opticalproximity sensor LSI. The sensor with a built-in RGB camera, depthsensor and multi-array microphone may also be used.

The “movable object” may be the user's operating finger, an operatingpen or an operating rod. The user's operating finger may be the left orright index finger. However, a plurality of fingers may also be used,such as a thumb and index finger. The pen may be a pointing device for atouch panel (for example, a stylus). The operating rod may be a remotecontrol device.

The detecting means (203) may be connected to the movingdistance-detecting sensor (202). The detecting means (203) is able todetect the presence of an object within the detection range of thesensor (202) via the moving distance-detecting sensor (202). Thedetecting means (203) is also able to determine the distance between theobject and the screen, or the moving distance of the object in thevertical direction (in the z-axis direction or along the axis passingthrough the screen). The moving distance in the vertical direction maybe either along the axis passing through the screen from above(left-handed coordinates) or along the axis passing through the screenfrom behind (right-handed coordinates). In the left-handed coordinates,the positive direction is the movable object moving towards the screen.In the right-handed coordinates, the positive direction is the movableobject moving away from the screen. The detecting means (203) may be setso that the moving distance is the distance within the detection rangeof the moving distance-detecting sensor (202). The display control means(204) described below may set the distance from the total number ofpages in the electronic document and the fixed distance, and associatethe displayed page to correspond with the distance.

The display control means (204) may display a page corresponding to theelectronic document on the screen in accordance with the movement of themovable object in the vertical direction with respect to the screen.Also, the display control means (204) may display pages according to thepage number order of the electronic document in accordance with themoving distance of the object in the vertical direction. The displaycontrol means (204) may also use the farthest point in the detectionrange in the vertical direction or a point at a predetermined distancefrom the surface within the detection range in the vertical direction atwhich the object may be present as the point for displaying the initialpage. The farthest distance within the detection range is the greatestdistance from the screen that may be detected by the movingdistance-detecting sensor (202). The display control means (204) mayalso use a point touching the screen or a point immediately above thescreen as the point for displaying the final page. The display controlmeans (204). The display control means (204) may display pages with alarger page as the object approaches the screen, and the distance forswitching pages may be set according to the total number of pages to bedisplayed (corresponding to the distance between the user's operatingfinger and the screen).

The display control means (204) fixes the display of the pagecorresponding to the electronic document that is displayed on the screenin accordance with the sliding of the object in a predetermineddirection within the detection range of the moving distance-detectingsensor (202), for example, horizontally to the right. The fixed page maybe set as a bookmarked page. After fixing the page, the display controlmeans (204) may transparently display a bookmarked page in theelectronic document over the fixed page, or transparently display thefixed page over the bookmarked page. This allows the bookmarked page tobe compared to a page before or after the bookmarked page (referred tohereafter as the comparison page). This will be explained in greaterdetail below.

A bookmarked page may be compared to a page before or after thebookmarked page (a comparison page) by displaying the comparison pageand then displaying the bookmarked page on the back screen (along theaxis passing through the screen from above). In other words, the displaycontrol means (204) is able to transparently display on top of the fixedpage one or more pages prior to the page number of the fixed page, oneor more pages subsequent to the page number of the fixed page, or aplurality of pages including a combination of these pages.Alternatively, a bookmarked page may be compared to a page before orafter the bookmarked page (a comparison page) by displaying thebookmarked page and then displaying the comparison page on the backscreen (along the axis passing through the screen from above). In otherwords, the display control means (204) is able to transparently displaythe fixed page on top of one or more pages prior to the page number ofthe fixed page, one or more pages subsequent to the page number of thefixed page, or a plurality of pages including a combination of thesepages. In other words, the display control means (204) is able totransparently display the fixed page on top of one or more pages priorto the page number of the fixed page, one or more pages subsequent tothe page number of the fixed page, or a plurality of pages including acombination of these pages.

After the fixing, the display control means (204) releases the fixedpage when the object is slid, for example, in a predetermined horizontaldirection relative to the screen.

The display control means (204) displays pages corresponding to theelectronic document gradually at an accelerating rate or gradually at adecelerating rate while advancing through the page numbers. The displaycontrol means (204) may perform the page display transition, forexample, so that it gradually accelerates at a constant rate as theoperating finger reaches the mid-point in the fixed range, and so thatit gradually decelerates at a constant rate as the operating fingerapproaches the screen from the mid-point in the fixed range.

When the electronic document is composed of sections, the displaycontrol means (204) displays on the screen the initial page of a sectioncorresponding to the electronic document in accordance with the movingdistance of the object in the vertical direction. Also, the displaycontrol means (204) may display the initial page of a section displayedon the screen immediately before the sliding of the object in apredetermined direction within the detection range of the movingdistance-detecting sensor (202), for example, horizontally to the left.After the initial page of a section has been displayed, the displaycontrol means (204) may display on the screen a page subsequent to theinitial page of a section in accordance with the moving distance of theobject in the vertical direction.

Here, “section” refers to a unit of an electronic document. In a book,these sections include the front matter (cover, frontispiece,dedication, preface, legend, table of contents, table of contents fordrawings), the body matter (chapter cover pages, text), and the backmatter (appendix, index, afterword, colophon). In a patent, the sectionsare the bibliographic information, specification, claims, abstract, anddrawings. In XML data, they are tag units. In a PDF file, they are thetable of contents, etc. In a Word file, they are the headers, etc.

The dividing means (205) automatically divide a single unit of displaydata into a plurality of data sets on the basis of the display size ofthe screen in the device (101-1) in accordance with the reception of aninstruction to divide the single unit of display data. Examples ofdivided single units of display data are shown in FIG. 3A through FIG.3E below. The number of divisions depends on the single unit of displaydata and the display size of the screen. It may be divided, for example,by two, four, six or nine.

When an electronic document is composed of sections, the dividing means(205) extracts the initial page of a section and sends the extractedinitial page to the assigning means (206) for pagination.

The assigning means (206) assigns page numbers to (paginates) theplurality of data sets divided by the dividing means (205). The methodfor assigning page numbers may be set by the user. For example, as shownin FIG. 3A through FIG. 3E below, the divided data is assigned numbers(numbered) in sequential order from the upper left to the upper rightand then from the lower left to the lower right. Alternatively, themethod for assigning page numbers may be preset.

When an electronic document is composed of sections, the assigning means(206) paginates (or numbers) the initial pages of the sections extractedby the dividing means (205) in ascending order in accordance with theiroriginal (pre-extraction) page numbers.

FIG. 2B is a functional block diagram of a device (101-2) preferablyhaving a hardware configuration according to FIG. 1 and also including apressure sensor able to detect the pressure applied by an objecttouching the screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.The device in FIG. 2B has a hardware configuration according to FIG. 1.The device (101-2) is equipped with a display means (211), a pressuresensor (212), a detecting means (213), a display control means (214), adividing means (215) and an assigning means (216).

A display means (211) may be built into the device (101-2), or a displaymeans (211) may be connected via a wire or wireless. The display means(211) is preferably built into the device (101-1).

The display means (211) has the same functions as the display means(201) shown in FIG. 2A. Therefore, further explanation of the displaymeans (211) has been omitted.

The pressure sensor (212) is a pressure sensor able to detect pressureapplied by an object touching the screen. The pressure sensor (212), forexample, may be a sensor able to sense pressure applied by a movableobject moving in the vertical direction and coming into contact with thescreen. Any pressure sensor (212) available to persons skilled in theart may be used. The pressure sensor array shown in Patent Literature 1may be used, but the present invention is not limited to this example.

The detecting means (213) may be connected to the pressure sensor (212).The detecting means (213) may detect an object touching the screen viathe pressure sensor (212). Also, the detecting means (213) may quantifythe pressure applied by an object touching the screen.

The display control means (214) may display a page corresponding to theelectronic document on the screen in accordance with the pressureapplied by the object on the screen. Also, the display control means(214) may display the initial page where the pressure applied by theobject to the screen is zero. The display control means (214) maydisplay the final page where the pressure is at the maximum value, wherethe maximum value is the value when the pressure applied to the screenexceeds a predetermined value. Also, the display control means (214) maybe set to display pages with larger page numbers as the pressureincreases, and the page switching pressure may be set in accordance withthe total number of displayed pages.

The display control means (214) fixes the display of the pagecorresponding to the electronic document that is displayed on the screenin accordance with the sliding of the object in a predetermineddirection detected by the pressure sensor (212), for example,horizontally to the right. The fixed page may be set as a bookmarkedpage. After fixing the page, the display control means (214) maytransparently display a bookmarked page in the electronic document overthe fixed page, or transparently display the fixed page over thebookmarked page. This allows the bookmarked page to be compared to apage before or after the bookmarked page (referred to hereafter as thecomparison page). This will be explained in greater detail below.

A bookmarked page may be compared to a page before or after thebookmarked page (a comparison page) by displaying the comparison pageand then displaying the bookmarked page on the back screen (along theaxis passing through the screen from above). In other words, the displaycontrol means (214) is able to transparently display on top of the fixedpage one or more pages prior to the page number of the fixed page, oneor more pages subsequent to the page number of the fixed page, or aplurality of pages including a combination of these pages.Alternatively, a bookmarked page may be compared to a page before orafter the bookmarked page (a comparison page) by displaying thebookmarked page and then displaying the comparison page on the backscreen (along the axis passing through the screen from above). In otherwords, the display control means (214) is able to transparently displaythe fixed page on top of one or more pages prior to the page number ofthe fixed page, one or more pages subsequent to the page number of thefixed page, or a plurality of pages including a combination of thesepages. In other words, the display control means (214) is able totransparently display the fixed page on top of one or more pages priorto the page number of the fixed page, one or more pages subsequent tothe page number of the fixed page, or a plurality of pages including acombination of these pages.

After the fixing, the display control means (214) releases the fixedpage when the object is slid, for example, in a predetermined horizontaldirection relative to the screen.

The display control means (214) displays pages corresponding to theelectronic document gradually at an accelerating rate or gradually at adecelerating rate while advancing through the page numbers. The displaycontrol means (214) may perform the page display transition, forexample, so that it gradually accelerates as the pressure applied by anoperating finger reaches half the maximum value, and so that itgradually decelerates as the pressure applied by the operating fingerexceeds half the maximum value and approaches the maximum value.

When the electronic document is composed of sections, the displaycontrol means (214) displays on the screen the initial page of a sectioncorresponding to the electronic document in accordance with the amountof pressure applied to the screen by the object. Also, the displaycontrol means (214) may display the initial page of a section displayedon the screen immediately before sliding of the object in apredetermined direction as detected by the pressure sensor (212), forexample, horizontally to the left. After the initial page of a sectionhas been displayed, the display control means (214) may display on thescreen a page subsequent to the initial page of a section in accordancewith the amount of pressure applied to the screen by the object.

The dividing means (215) has the same functions as the dividing means(205) shown in FIG. 2A. Therefore, further explanation of the dividingmeans (215) has been omitted.

The assigning means (216) has the same functions as the assigning means(206) shown in FIG. 2A. Therefore, further explanation of the assigningmeans (216) has been omitted.

FIG. 3A shows an example (upper portion of the drawing) of an electronicdocument with a single unit of display data (office layout diagram) thatmay be used in an embodiment of the present invention, and an example(lower portion of the drawing) in which this electronic document isdivided into eight units, the divided page data is paginated, and thepages are arranged according to the page number (pages 1-8). Theelectronic document (301) shown in FIG. 3A (upper portion) is an officelayout diagram, and this is a single unit of display data (stored in BMPformat). The display size of this electronic document (301) is 1,280 by4,960 pixels (H×L). The resolution (size) of the screen of the device(101) for displaying electronic documents (301) is 960×640 pixels (H×L).Because the display size of the electronic document (301) is greaterthan the screen resolution of the device (101), the device (101) maynotdisplay the electronic document (301) on the screen in a way that isvisible to the user. Therefore, the dividing means (205, 215) comparesthe display size of the electronic document (301) to the screenresolution of the device (101), and decides to divide the electronicdocument (301) by eight so that the divided data is visible to the useron the screen of the data device (101). The dotted lines in FIG. 3A(upper portion) indicate the lines where the electronic document (301)was divided.

The assigning means (205, 215) numbers the divided data (311-318), whichhas been divided by eight, in sequential order from the upper left tothe upper right and then from the lower left to the lower right. Here,divided data (311) is page 1, divided data (312) is page 2, and so on.Last, divided data (318) is page 8.

As shown in FIG. 3A (lower section), the display control means (204,214) may arrange the divided data (311-318) divided by eight so thatdivided data (311) is the foremost screen, the page numbers increase asthey move inward from the screen, and divided data (318) is last. Inthis specification, this arrangement of divided data is referred to as a“skewer”.

When the divided data (311-318) is displayed by device (101-1), thedisplay control means (204) displays the first page (311) if the user'sinstruction hand is at or near the farthest point in the detection rangeof the moving distance-detecting sensor (202). The rest of the divideddata (312-317) is displayed so that the page number increases as theinstruction hand gets closer to the screen. When the instruction handtouches or is at a point almost touching the screen, divided data (318)is displayed. The display control means (204) may associate divided data(311) with the farthest point in the detection range, associate divideddata (318) with the point at which the instruction hand touches thescreen, divide the distance traveled by the instruction hand from thefarthest point in the detection range to the point at which the handtouches the screen into seven equal intervals, and associate divideddata (312-317) with each point (six spots). Alternatively, the displaycontrol means (204) may associate divided data (311) with the farthestpoint in the detection range, associate divided data (318) with thepoint at which the instruction hand touches the screen, display thedivided data so that page numbers increase slowly at first as the user'sinstruction hand moves from the farthest point in the detection rangetowards the mid-point between the farthest point in the detection rangeand the point touching the screen, display the divided data so that pagenumbers rapidly increase (accelerate) as the user's instruction handmoves closer to the mid-point, display the divided data so that pagenumbers rapidly decrease (decelerate) as the user's instruction handmoves from the mid-point towards the point touching the screen, and thendisplay the divided data so that page numbers slowly decrease(decelerate) as the user's instruction hand approaches the point atwhich the screen is touched. The display control means (204) may alsoadjust the display speed for divided data in accordance with the movingspeed of the user's instruction hand.

When the divided data (311-318) divided by eight is displayed by device(101-2), the display control means (214) displays the first page (311)where no pressure (zero pressure) is detected by the pressure sensor(212). The rest of the divided data (312-318) is displayed so that thepage number increases as pressure applied to the screen by the user'sinstruction hand gets stronger. The display control means (214) maydisplay the eighth and final page (318) at the point of maximumpressure, which is when the pressure applied by the user's instructionhand exceeds a predetermined numerical value or reaches a predeterminednumerical value set as the maximum pressure. The display control means(214) may associate divided data (311) with a point of zero pressure,associate divided data (318) with the point of maximum pressure, dividethe difference between zero pressure and the maximum pressure into sevenequal intervals, and associate divided data (312-317) with each point(six spots). Alternatively, the display control means (214) mayassociate divided data (311) with the point of zero pressure, associatedivided data (318) with the point of maximum pressure, display thedivided data so that page numbers increase slowly at first as theapplied pressure rises from zero to the mid-point between the point ofzero pressure and the point of maximum pressure, display the divideddata so that page numbers rapidly increase (accelerate) as the pressureapproaches the mid-point, display the divided data so that page numbersrapidly decrease (decelerate) as pressure rises from the mid-pointtowards the point of maximum pressure, and then display the divided dataso that page numbers slowly decrease (decelerate) as the pressureapproaches the point of maximum pressure. The display control means(214) may also adjust the display speed for divided data in accordancewith the pressure load speed.

FIG. 3B shows an example (upper portion of the drawing) of an electronicdocument (302) with a single unit of display data (map) that may be usedin an embodiment of the present invention, and an example (lower portionof the drawing) in which this electronic document (302) is divided intofour units, the divided page data (321-324) is turned into pages, andthe pages are arranged according to the page number (pages 1-4).

FIG. 3C shows an example (upper portion of the drawing) of an electronicdocument with a single unit of display data (blueprint of a building)(303) that may be used in an embodiment of the present invention, and anexample (lower portion of the drawing) in which this electronic document(303) is divided into four units, the divided page data (331-334) ispaginated, and the pages are arranged according to the page number(pages 1-4).

FIG. 3D shows an example (upper portion of the drawing) of an electronicdocument with a single unit of display data (aeronautical chart) (304)that may be used in an embodiment of the present invention, and anexample (lower portion of the drawing) in which this electronic document(304) is divided into four units, the divided page data (341-344) ispaginated, and the pages are arranged according to the page number(pages 1-4).

FIG. 3E shows an example of an electronic document (upper portion of thedrawing) with a single unit of display data (image of an electroniccircuit board) (305) that may be used in an embodiment of the presentinvention, and an example (lower portion of the drawing) in which thiselectronic document (305) is divided into four units, the divided pagedata (351-354) is paginated, and the pages are arranged according to thepage number (pages 1-4).

FIG. 3F shows an example of an electronic document with a plurality ofpages (presentation images) (306) that may be used in an embodiment ofthe present invention. The electronic document (306) includes page data(361-368) constituted as pages 1-8. The page data (361-368) is viewedaccording to page number (pages 1-8) so that the light bulbs appear toturn on from right to left.

FIG. 3G shows an example of the electronic document (presentationimages) (306) with a plurality of pages (361-368) in FIG. 3F arrangedaccording to page number (pages 1-4).

FIG. 3H shows an example (upper portion of the drawing) of an electronicdocument with a plurality of pages (image of an electronic circuitboard) (307) that may be used in an embodiment of the present invention,and an example (lower portion of the drawing) of the electronic documentarranged according to the page number. The electronic document (307)includes page data (371-374) constituted as pages 1-4. Each unit of pagedata (371-374) shows chips manufactured in different countries. Here,the chip in page data (371) is made in Japan, the chip in page data(372) is made in China, the chip in page data (373) is made in the USA,and the chip in page data (374) is made in Korea.

FIG. 3I is an example of an electronic document with a plurality ofpages (PDF file of a manual) (308) that may be used in an embodiment ofthe present invention showing the initial page (381-390) of each sectionof the electronic document. The sections of the electronic document(308) are cover page (381), table of contents (382), chapter 1 (383),chapter 2 (384), chapter 3 (385), chapter 4 (386), appendix A (387),appendix B (388), disclaimers (389), and the index (390).

FIG. 3J shows an example in which the initial page (381-390) of eachsection of the electronic document (PDF file of a manual) (308) with aplurality of pages in FIG. 3I is paginated (corresponding to pages1-10), and the initial pages (381-390) are arranged according to pagenumber (pages 1-10). All of the page data other than the initial pages(381-390) of the sections is stored, for example, in the memory device(108).

FIG. 3K is an example of an electronic document with a plurality ofpages (PDF file of a patent specification) (309) that may be used in anembodiment of the present invention showing the initial page (391-395)of each section of the electronic document. The sections of thiselectronic document (308) are the bibliographic information (391), thespecification (392), the claims (393), the abstract (394) and thedrawings (395).

FIG. 3L shows an example in which the initial page (391-395) of eachsection of the electronic document with a plurality of pages in FIG. 3K(PDF file of a patent specification) (309) is paginated (correspondingto pages 1-5), and the pages (391-395) are arranged according to thepage number (page 1-5). All of the page data other than the initialpages (391-395) of the sections is stored, for example, in the memorydevice (108).

FIG. 4A shows an example of an electronic document (a document includingdrawings) that may be used in an embodiment of the present invention inwhich pages are transparently displayed on a screen. The user views theelectronic document (401) from above (411). Page data (421), page data(422) and page data (423) are arranged according to page number (pages1-3) from the foremost screen. Thus, the user may view page data (421),but maynot view page data (422) and page data (423).

Therefore, because page data (421) has been bookmarked, the displaycontrol means (204, 214) sets page data (421) to the transparency levelfor the foremost screen (for example, 60%) to become page data (431),sets the next page data (422) to a transparency level (for example, 30%)that is somewhat lower than that of page data (431) to become page data(432), and does not render the final page data (423) transparent (forexample, a transparency level of 0%, which is the non-transparentsetting) to become page data (433). In other words, the page data on theforemost screen is the most transparent, and the transparency leveldecreases while moving downward through the screens (see 412).

The user views the electronic document (401) from above (412). Here, theuser may view the next page data (432) and the final page data (433)through the page data (431) on the foremost screen. In this way, theuser may compare the contents of the page data (431) on the foremostscreen to the content of the subsequent page data (432-433) forreference purposes.

In example (412), the content of a bookmarked page was compared to thecontent of two other pages for reference purposes. The content of thebookmarked page may also be compared to the content of one other page(432 or 433) for reference purposes in the same way. However, thecontent becomes more difficult to see as the number of pages increases.Therefore, the sets of page data should be minimized, and the backgroundof each set of page data may be given a different color or pattern.

FIG. 4B shows an example of an electronic document (an image of anelectronic circuit board) that may be used in an embodiment of thepresent invention in which pages are transparently displayed on ascreen. The user views the electronic document (402) from above (413).Page data (441), page data (442), page data (443) and page data (444)are arranged according to page number (pages 1-4) from the foremostscreen. Thus, the user may view page data (441), but maynot view pagedata (442), page data (443) and page data (444).

Therefore, because page data (441) has been bookmarked, the displaycontrol means (204, 214) sets page data (441) to the transparency levelfor the foremost screen (for example, 80%) to become page data (451),sets the next page data (442) to a transparency level (for example, 60%)that is somewhat lower than that of page data (451) to become page data(452), sets the next page data (443) to a transparency level (forexample, 40%) that is somewhat lower than that of page data (452) tobecome page data (453), and does not render the final page data (444)transparent (for example, 0%) to become page data (454). In other words,the page data on the foremost screen is the most transparent, and thetransparency level decreases while moving downward through the screens(see 414).

The user views the electronic document (401) from above (414). Here, theuser may view the next page data (452), the subsequent page data (453),and the final page data (454) through the page data (451) on theforemost screen. In this way, the user may compare the contents of thepage data (451) on the foremost screen to the content of the subsequentpage data (452-454) for reference purposes. In the example shown in FIG.4B, the user compares the chips on electronic circuit boardsmanufactured in different countries using the transparency function.

In example (414), the content of a bookmarked page was compared to thecontent of three other pages for reference purposes. The content of thebookmarked page may also be compared to the content of one other page(452-454) or to the content of any combination of two other pages(452-454) for reference purposes in the same way.

FIG. 5A shows an example (upper portion of the drawing) of an electronicdocument with a single unit of display data (an image of an electroniccircuit board) (305) that may be used in an embodiment of the presentinvention in which the electronic document is divided, the divided pagedata (351-354) is paginated, and the page data is arranged according tothe page number (pages 1-4); and shows an example (lower portion of thedrawing) in which pages are selected and fixed using a movingdistance-detecting sensor of the pages (for example, a proximitysensor), and the fixed pages are transparently displayed. The electronicdocument (image of an electronic circuit board) (305) shown in FIG. 5Ais the same electronic document (305) shown in FIG. 3E. In other words,the electronic document (305) is a single unit of display data. Thedisplay size of the electronic document (305) is greater than the sizeof the screen in the device (101-1).

In Step 501, the user issues a request to display the electronicdocument (305) on the device (101-1). The electronic document (305) maybe displayed, for example, inside browser software. However, the displaysize of the single page (single unit of display data) in the electronicdocument (305) is greater than the size of the screen in the device(101-1), so the device (101-1) may only display a portion of theelectronic device (305) (for example, 351) using the default setting.Therefore, the user, for example, triple clicks the screen of the device(101-1). The device (101-1) detects the triple click and calls up thescreen selection mode. The device (101-1) then calls up the dividingmeans (205) in response to the screen mode being called up.

In Step 502, the dividing means (205) compares the display size of theelectronic document (305) to the screen resolution of the device(101-1), and decides to divide the electronic document (305) by four sothat the user may view the divided data on the screen of the device(101-1). The dividing means (205) then divides the electronic document(305) into four units (see Step 501 in the drawing). Alternatively, thedevice (101-1) may call up the dividing means (205) when a triple clickis detected. The dividing means (205) may then display an interface onthe screen for the user to enter a number to divide the document by. Inresponse to an entered number, the dividing means (205) may divide theelectronic document (305) by the entered number.

The assignment means (206) in device (101-1) paginates (numbers) thedivided data (351-354) from the upper left, and arranges the divideddata by page number (pages 1-4) (see Step 502 in the drawing. The device(101-1) initially displays the first page of divided data (351) on theforemost screen. Essentially, the display control means (204) of thedevice (101-1) displays only divided data (351) on the screen. Thedisplay control means (204) may set the point for display of the initialor first page at or near the farthest point at which the movingdistance-detecting sensor (202) may detect the user's operating finger,set the point for display of the final or fourth page at the point wherethe user's operating finger touches the screen, and associate the secondand third pages with certain distances from the screen so that the pagenumber of the displayed pages increases as the user's operating fingerapproaches the screen (see Step 504 in the drawing).

In Step 503, the display control means (204) transitions to the screenselection mode when a message is received from the assigning means (206)that the electronic data (305) has been divided. The user may be alertedto the transition to the screen selection mode, for example, by pop upinformation displayed on the screen. The user's operating finger (forexample, the index finger of the right hand) may then be held over thescreen.

In Step 504, the user's operating finger approaches the screen. Thesensor (202) detects movement of the operating finger, and sendsoperating finger movement information to the detecting means (203). Thedetecting means (203) then determines the distance of the operatingfinger from the screen. The sensor (202) may also determine the speed ofthe operating finger. The display control means (204) displays one ofthe first through fourth pages on the screen (corresponding to data351-354) in accordance with the distance of the operating finger fromthe screen (see Step 504 in the drawing). In Step 504 shown in thedrawing, the operating finger moves from the distance corresponding tothe first page towards the screen to the distance corresponding to thethird page. Here, the display control means (204) may display the firstand second pages prior to the third page transparently above the thirdpage so that the third page may be viewed. For example, the displaycontrol means (204) may set the transparency level of the first page to50%, and the transparency level of the second page to 25%. The displayedcontent of each page may become fainter as the transparency levelincreases. Alternatively, the brightness level of the first page may beset to 60%, and the brightness level of the second page to 30%. Thedisplayed content of each page may become fainter as the brightnesslevel increases. Because the display control means (204) displays thecontent of the third page while making the content of the first andsecond pages transparent, the user may see the pages advance in responseto movement of the operating finger, and the differences between thecurrent page and the previous pages may be seen.

In Step 505, the display control means (204) currently displays thethird page because the current position of the operating hand is at thedistance above the screen corresponding to the third page (see Step 505in the drawing). At this time, the display control means (204) maydisplay the first and second pages prior to the third page transparentlyon top of the third page.

When a displayed page has been reached, the user may select and fix thepage by sliding the operating finger held above the screen in apredetermined horizontal direction relative to the screen (for example,horizontally to the left).

In Step 506, when the detecting means (203) has detected the sliding ofthe operating finger in the predetermined horizontal direction, thedisplay control means (204) displays a message that the pagecorresponding to the position of the operating finger immediately beforethe sliding operation (that is, the third page) has been fixed. Thedisplay control means (204) may then arrange the fixed page (the thirdpage shown in Step 505) on the foremost screen, followed by the fourthpage shown in Step 505, and optionally the first page shown in Step 505and the second page shown in Step 505. The device (101-1) then ends thescreen selection mode.

By performing the operations and processing shown in Steps 501 through506, a user may readily view a single unit of display data on the screenof the device (101-1), and may easily reach the intended page using anoperating finger.

FIG. 5B shows an example in which another page is selected using themoving distance-detecting sensor, and the fixed page is transparentlydisplayed in order to compare the page fixed in FIG. 5A to the otherpage. In Step 506 of FIG. 5A described above, the display control means(204) may arrange the fixed page (the third page shown in Step 505) onthe foremost screen, followed by the fourth page shown in Step 505, andoptionally the first page shown in Step 505 and the second page shown inStep 505 (not shown in the drawing). The following is an explanation ofthe method allowing for comparison of content between pages after Step506.

In Step 511, the user may, for example, triple click the screen of thedevice (101-1) and slide an operating finger in a predeterminedhorizontal direction relative to the screen (for example, horizontallyto the left) to call up the screen comparison mode. The user then holdsan operating finger above the screen.

In Step 512, the user's operating finger approaches the screen. Thesensor (202) detects movement of the operating finger, and sendsoperating finger movement information to the detecting means (203). Thedetecting means (203) then determines the distance of the operatingfinger from the screen. The sensor (202) may also determine the speed ofthe operating finger. The display control means (204) in device (101-1)displays the third, the fourth and, optionally, the first and secondpages on the screen (corresponding to data 353, 354, 351 and 352) inaccordance with the distance of the operating finger from the screen(see Step 512 in the drawing). In Step 512 shown in the drawing, theoperating finger moves from the distance corresponding to the third pagetowards the screen to the distance corresponding to the first page.Here, the display control means (204) may display the third and fourthpages prior to the first page transparently above the first page so thatthe first page may be viewed. For example, the display control means(204) may set the transparency level of the third page to 50%, and thetransparency level of the fourth page to 25%. Alternatively, thebrightness level of the third page may be set to 60%, and the brightnesslevel of the fourth page to 30%. Because the display control means (204)displays the content of the first page while making the content of thethird and fourth pages transparent, the user may see the pages advancein response to movement of the operating finger, and the differencesbetween the current page and the previous pages may be seen.

In Step 513, the display control means (204) currently displays thefirst page because the current position of the operating hand is at thedistance above the screen corresponding to the first page. At this time,the display control means (204) may display the third and fourth pagesprior to the first page transparently on top of the first page (insuccessive order from the highest distance above the screen).

When the comparison page has been reached, the user may select and fixthe page by sliding the operating finger held above the screen in apredetermined horizontal direction relative to the screen (for example,horizontally to the left).

In Step 514, when the detecting means (203) has detected the sliding ofthe operating finger in the predetermined horizontal direction, thedisplay control means (204) displays a message that the pagecorresponding to the position of the operating finger immediately beforethe sliding operation (that is, the first page) has been fixed. Thedisplay control means (204) then arranges the fixed page (the third pageshown in Step 513) on the foremost screen, followed by the comparisonpage (the first page shown in Step 515). At this time, the displaycontrol means (204) may display the third page prior to the first pagetransparently on top of the first page. Next, the user may optionallyadjust the transparency level of the third page in Step 515.

In Step 515, the user's operating finger approaches the screen. Thesensor (202) detects movement of the operating finger, and sendsoperating finger movement information to the detecting means (203). Thedetecting means (203) then determines the distance of the operatingfinger from the screen. The sensor (202) may also determine the speed ofthe operating finger. The display control means (204) changes thetransparency level of the third page in accordance with the distance ofthe operating finger from the screen (see Step 515 in the drawing). Forexample, in Step 515 shown in the drawing, the operating finger is movedfrom the distance corresponding to the third page towards the screen tothe position corresponding to the first page. As the operating fingerapproaches the distance corresponding to the first page, the third pageis displayed more faintly. Because the display control means (204)displays the content of the first page while making the content of thethird page transparent, the user may see the pages advance in responseto movement of the operating finger, and the differences between thecurrent page and the previous page may be seen.

In Step 516, when the comparison of the third page to the first page hasbeen completed, the user moves the operating finger held above thescreen in a predetermined horizontal direction relative to the screen(for example, horizontally to the left). The detecting means (203)detects the sliding of the operating finger in the predeterminedhorizontal direction. In response, the device (101-1) ends the screencomparison mode.

When the screen comparison mode is ended in Step 517, the displaycontrol means (204) returns to the page display shown in Step 511.

In the explanation of Steps 501 through 517, the electronic document(305) is a single unit of display data. In the explanation, the singleunit of display data was divided. For other examples, see electronicdocument (301) in FIG. 3A, electronic document (302) in FIG. 3B,electronic document (303) in FIG. 3C and electronic document (304) inFIG. 3D.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the electronic documenthas display data composed of a plurality of pages. Here, the pages donot need to be divided. For examples, see electronic document (306) inFIG. 3F, electronic document (307) in FIG. 3H, electronic document (308)in FIG. 3I and electronic document (309) in FIG. 3K. In these examples,when the device (101-1) has called up the screen selection mode, thedividing means (205) and the assigning means (206) do not perform anyprocessing. Instead, the process advances directly to the screenselection mode shown in Step 503, and the same processing (503-517) maybe performed.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the electronic document(305) has a plurality of pages and sections. Here, when the screenselection mode has been called up, the dividing means (205) extracts theinitial page of each section, and the assigning means (206) paginates(or numbers) the initial pages of the extracted sections in ascendingorder in accordance with their original (pre-extraction) page numbers(see FIG. 3J and FIG. 3L). The process then advances to the screenselection mode, and the same processing (503-517) may be performed.

FIG. 6A shows an example (upper portion of the drawing) of the page dataof an electronic document with a plurality of pages (images of anelectronic circuit board) in an embodiment of the present inventionarranged according to page number; and an example (lower portion of thedrawing) in which screens are selected and fixed using a pressure sensor(212), and the fixed pages are transparently displayed. The electronicdocument (images of an electronic circuit board) (307) shown in FIG. 6Ais the same electronic document (307) shown in FIG. 3H, and includes aplurality of pages (that is, four pages).

In Step 601, the user issues a request to display the electronicdocument (307) on the device (101-2). The electronic document (307) maybe displayed, for example, inside browser software. The user then tripleclicks the screen of the device (101-2). The device (101-2) detects thetriple click and calls up the screen selection mode. The device (101-2)then calls up the dividing means (205) in response to the screen modebeing called up. However, because the electronic document (307) includesa plurality of pages, the dividing means (215) determines that dividingthe electronic document (307) is not required. Therefore, the dividingmeans (215) sends to the display control means (214) a message thatdivision is not required.

In Step 602, the display control means (214) initially displays on theforemost screen the first page (371) of the electronic document (307).The display control means (214) may set a state of zero pressure (zeropressure state) as detected by the pressure sensor (212) as the point atwhich the first page is displayed, set a state of maximum pressure(maximum pressure state) as detected by the pressure sensor (212) as thepoint at which the fourth and final page is displayed, divide thenumerical value of the difference between the zero pressure state andthe maximum pressure state by three, and associate the second page andthird page at the remaining pressure points (two spots). When thedisplay control means (214) receives a message from the dividing means(215) indicating that division of the electronic document (307) is notrequired, it notifies the user of the transition to the screen selectionmode. The user may be alerted to the transition to the screen selectionmode, for example, by pop up information displayed on the screen. Theuser's operating finger (for example, the index finger of the righthand) may then be positioned over the screen.

In Step 603, the user applies pressure to the screen using an operatingfinger. The pressure sensor (212) detects pressure applied to the screenby the operating finger, and sends pressure information to the detectingmeans (213). The detecting means (213) then determines the pressureapplied to the screen by the operating finger. The pressure sensor (212)may also determine the rate of acceleration of the operating fingerpressing down on the screen. The display control means (214) displaysone of the first through fourth pages on the screen (corresponding todata 371-374) in accordance with the applied pressure. In Step 604 shownin the drawing, when the operating finger applies pressure correspondingto the third page, the display control means (214) may display the firstand second pages prior to the third page transparently above the thirdpage (in successive order from the highest distance above the screen) sothat the third page may be viewed. For example, the display controlmeans (214) may set the transparency level of the first page to 50%, andthe transparency level of the second page to 25%. The displayed contentof each page may become fainter as the transparency level increases.Alternatively, the brightness level of the first page may be set to 60%,and the brightness level of the second page to 30%. The displayedcontent of each page may become fainter as the brightness levelincreases. Because the display control means (214) displays the contentof the third page while making the content of the first and second pagestransparent, the user may see the pages advance in response to pressureapplied by the user, and the differences between the current page andthe previous pages may be seen.

In Step 604, the display control means (214) currently displays thethird page because the pressure applied to the screen by the operatingfinger corresponds to the third page. At this time, the display controlmeans (214) may display the first and second pages prior to the thirdpage transparently on top of the third page.

In Step 605, when a displayed page has been reached, the user may selectand fix the page by sliding the operating finger held above the screenin a predetermined horizontal direction relative to the screen (forexample, horizontally to the left).

In Step 606, when the detecting means (213) has detected the sliding ofthe operating finger in the predetermined horizontal direction, thedisplay control means (214) displays a message that the pagecorresponding to the applied pressure immediately before the slidingoperation (that is, the third page) has been fixed. In response to thereceived message, the display control means (214) may then arrange thefixed page (the third page shown in Step 605) on the foremost screen,followed by the fourth page shown in Step 605, and optionally the firstpage shown in Step 605 and the second page shown in Step 605. The device(101-2) then ends the screen selection mode.

By performing the operations and processing shown in Steps 601 through606, a user may readily view a display data having a plurality of pageson the screen of the device (101-2), and may easily reach the intendedpage using an operating finger.

FIG. 6B shows an example in another embodiment of the present inventionin which another page is selected using the pressure sensor, and thefixed page is transparently displayed in order to compare the page fixedin FIG. 6A to the other page. In Step 606 of FIG. 6A described above,the display control means (214) may arrange the fixed page (the thirdpage shown in Step 605) on the foremost screen, followed by the fourthpage shown in Step 605, and optionally the first page shown in Step 605and the second page shown in Step 605. The following is an explanationof the method allowing for comparison of content between pages afterStep 606.

In Step 611, the user may, for example, triple click the screen of thedevice (101-2) and slide an operating finger in a predeterminedhorizontal direction relative to the screen (for example, horizontallyto the left) to call up the screen comparison mode. Next, the userapplies pressure to the screen using an operating finger. The pressuresensor (212) detects pressure applied to the screen by the operatingfinger, and sends pressure information to the detecting means (213). Thedetecting means (213) then determines the pressure applied to the screenby the operating finger. The pressure sensor (212) may also determinethe rate of acceleration of the operating finger pressing down on thescreen. The display control means (214) displays the third, the fourthand, optionally, the first and second pages on the screen (correspondingto data 373, 374, 371 and 372) in accordance with the pressure appliedto the screen. In Step 612 shown in the drawing, the operating fingerapplies pressure corresponding to the third page. Here, the displaycontrol means (214) may display the third and fourth pages prior to thefirst page transparently above the first page (in successive order fromthe highest distance above the screen) so that the first page may beviewed. For example, the display control means (214) may set thetransparency level of the third page to 50%, and the transparency levelof the fourth page to 25%. Alternatively, the brightness level of thethird page may be set to 60%, and the brightness level of the fourthpage to 30%. Because the display control means (214) displays thecontent of the first page while making the content of the third andfourth pages transparent (in successive order from the highest distanceabove the screen), the user may see the pages advance in response tomovement of the operating finger, and the differences between thecurrent page and the previous pages may be seen.

In Step 612, the display control means (214) currently displays thefirst page because the pressure currently applied to the screen by theoperating finger corresponds to the first page. At this time, thedisplay control means (214) may display the third page prior to thefirst page transparently on top of the first page.

When the comparison page has been reached, the user may select and fixthe page by sliding the operating finger held above the screen in apredetermined horizontal direction relative to the screen (for example,horizontally to the left).

In Step 613, when the detecting means (213) has detected the sliding ofthe operating finger in the predetermined horizontal direction, thedisplay control means (214) displays a message that the pagecorresponding to the position of the operating finger immediately beforethe sliding operation (that is, the first page) has been fixed. Thedisplay control means (214) then arranges the fixed page (the third pageshown in Step 612) on the foremost screen, followed by the comparisonpage (the first page shown in Step 612). At this time, the displaycontrol means (214) may display the third page prior to the first pagetransparently on top of the first page. Next, the user may optionallyadjust the transparency level of the third page in Step 614.

In Step 614, the user applies pressure to the screen using an operatingfinger. The pressure sensor (212) detects pressure applied to the screenby the operating finger, and sends pressure information to the detectingmeans (213). The detecting means (213) then determines the pressureapplied to the screen by the operating finger. The pressure sensor (212)may also determine the rate of acceleration of the operating fingerpressing down on the screen. The display control means (214) changes thetransparency level of the third page in accordance with the pressureapplied by the operating finger to the screen. For example, theoperating finger increasingly applies pressure from the pressurecorresponding to the third page (zero pressure state) to the pressurecorresponding to the first page. As the operating finger appliespressure approaching the pressure corresponding to the first page, thedisplay control means (214) displays the third page more faintly.Because the display control means (214) displays the content of thefirst page while making the content of the third page transparent, theuser may see the pages advance in response to pressure applied by theoperating finger, and the differences between the current page and theprevious page may be seen.

In Step 615, when the comparison of the third page to the first page hasbeen completed, the user moves the operating finger held above thescreen in a predetermined horizontal direction relative to the screen(for example, horizontally to the left). The detecting means (213)detects the sliding of the operating finger in the predeterminedhorizontal direction. In response, the device (101-2) ends the screencomparison mode.

When the screen comparison mode is ended in Step 616, the displaycontrol means (214) returns to the page display shown in Step 611.

In the explanation of Steps 601 through 616, the electronic document(307) is display data having a plurality of pages. In the explanation,division of the display data was not required. For examples, seeelectronic document (306) in FIG. 3F, electronic document (307) in FIG.3H, electronic document (308) in FIG. 3I and electronic document (309)in FIG. 3K.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the electronic documenthas to be divided. For examples, see electronic document (301) in FIG.3A, electronic document (302) in FIG. 3B, electronic document (303) inFIG. 3C and electronic document (304) in FIG. 3D. In other words, theelectronic document is a single unit of display data. When the displaysize is greater than the size of the screen in the device (101-2), thetechnique explained in Step 501 and Step 502 of FIG. 5A may be used todivide the electronic document by a predetermined number. The dividingmeans (215) divides the electronic document, and the assigning means(216) paginates the divided data. Afterwards, the device (101-2)transitions to the screen selection mode, and the same processingdescribed above (603-616) may be performed.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the electronic documenthas a plurality of pages and sections. For examples, see electronicdocument (308) in FIG. 3I and electronic document (309) in FIG. 3K. Whenthe screen selection mode has been called up, the dividing means (215)extracts the initial page of each section, and the assigning means (216)paginates (or numbers) the initial pages of the extracted sections inascending order in accordance with their original (pre-extraction) pagenumbers (see FIG. 3J and FIG. 3L). The display control means (214) thentransitions to the screen selection mode, and the same processingdescribed above (603-616) may be performed.

FIG. 7A is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention showingthe process for dividing an electronic document with a single unit ofdisplay data, turning the divisions into page data, arranging the pagedata according to page number, and importing the page data arrangedaccording to page number; or arranging the page data in an electronicdocument with a plurality of pages according to page number, andimporting the arranged page data. In Step 701, the device (101-1, 101-2)begins the process of importing an electronic document that may be usedin an embodiment of the present invention. In this process, theelectronic document may be an electronic document including a singleunit of display data, an electronic document in which a single unit ofdisplay data has been divided into a plurality of units and paginated(for example, the electronic documents shown in FIG. 3A through FIG.3E), an electronic document with a plurality of pages (for example, theelectronic documents shown in FIG. 3F through FIG. 3H), or an electronicdocument with sections in which the first page of each section has beenpaginated (for example, the electronic documents shown in FIG. 3Ithrough FIG. 3L).

In Step 702, the device (101-1, 101-2) receives a read request from theuser to display an electronic document on the screen. The electronicdocument may be automatically retrieved, for example, from, data storedin the storage means (108) of the device (101-1, 101-2), or data storedin the storage means of a computer or network storage (NAS) connected tothe device (101-1, 101-2) via the communication interface (114).

In Step 703, the device (101-1, 101-2) determines whether or not theelectronic document in the read request is available. When theelectronic document is available, the device (101-1, 101-2) advances theprocess to Step 704. When the electronic document is not available, thedevice (101-1, 101-2) advances the process to Step 705 for errorprocessing.

In Step 704, when the electronic document is available, the device(101-1, 101-2) hands over the process to the dividing means (205, 215).The dividing means (205, 215) determines whether or not the electronicdocument has more than one page. When the electronic document has morethan one page, the dividing means (205, 215) advances the process toStep 709. When the electronic document does not have more than one page(that is, the electronic document only has one page), the dividing means(205, 215) advances the process to Step 706.

In Step 705, when the electronic document is not available, the device(101-1, 101-2) displays an error message on the screen of the device(101-1, 101-2) and/or generates an error tone to notify the user thatthe requested electronic document is unavailable.

In Step 706, the dividing means (205, 215) determines whether it isnecessary to divide the single unit of data into a plurality of dataunits in accordance with the size of the screen in the device (101-1,101-2). When division is necessary, the dividing means (205, 215)advances the process to Step 707. When division is unnecessary, thedividing means (205, 215) advances to Step 710 where the process isended. When the process advances to Step 710, the dividing means (205,215) may issue a request to the display control means (204, 214) toimport the single unit of data to the memory.

In Step 707, the dividing means (205, 215) may divide the single unit ofdata into N units of data in response to the need for division.

In Step 708, the assigning means (206, 216) assigns fixed page numbers(pages 1-n, where n is an integer) to the N units of data divided inStep 707.

In Step 709, the display control means (204, 214) imports the N pageswith page numbers (N) in the electronic document to the memory insequential order. Alternatively, the display control means (204, 214)imports data assigned page numbers 1-n in Step 708 to the memory insequential order.

In Step 710, the device (101-1, 101-2) ends the process of importing theelectronic document. Next, in a device (101-1) with a movingdistance-detecting sensor (202), the processing shown in any one of FIG.8A through FIG. 8D is started on the basis of a user instruction. In adevice (101-2) with a pressure sensor (212) the processing shown in anyone of FIG. 9A through FIG. 9D is started on the basis of a userinstruction.

FIG. 7B is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention showingthe process for importing the initial page data of each section in anelectronic document composed of a plurality of sections. In Step 711,the device (101-1, 101-2) starts the importing of an electronic documentcomposed of sections which may be used in an embodiment of the presentinvention.

In Step 712, the device (101-1, 101-2) receives a read request from theuser to display an electronic document on the screen. The electronicdocument may be automatically retrieved, for example, from, data storedin the storage means (108) of the device (101-1, 101-2), or data storedin the storage means of a computer or network storage (NAS) connected tothe device (101-1, 101-2) via the communication interface (114).

In Step 713, the device (101-1, 101-2) determines whether or not theelectronic document in the read request is available. When theelectronic document is available, the device (101-1, 101-2) advances theprocess to Step 714. When the electronic document is not available, thedevice (101-1, 101-2) advances the process to Step 715 for errorprocessing.

In Step 714, when the electronic document is available, the device(101-1, 101-2) hands over the process to the dividing means (205, 215).The dividing means (205, 215) determines whether or not the electronicdocument has more than one page. When the electronic document has morethan one page, the dividing means (205, 215) advances the process toStep 719. When the electronic document does not have more than one page(that is, the electronic document only has one page), the dividing means(205, 215) advances the process to Step 716.

In Step 715, when the electronic document is not available, the device(101-1, 101-2) displays an error message on the screen of the device(101-1, 101-2) and/or generates an error tone to notify the user thatthe requested electronic document is unavailable.

In Step 716, the dividing means (205, 215) determines whether it isnecessary to divide the single unit of data into a plurality of dataunits in accordance with the size of the screen in the device (101-1,101-2). When division is necessary, the dividing means (205, 215)advances the process to Step 717. When division is unnecessary, thedividing means (205, 215) advances to Step 724 where the process isended. When the process advances to Step 724, the dividing means (205,215) may issue a request to the display control means (204, 214) toimport the single unit of data to the memory.

In Step 717, the dividing means (205, 215) may divide the single unit ofdata into N units of data in response to the need for division.

In Step 718, the assigning means (206, 216) assigns fixed page numbers(pages 1-n) to the N units of data divided in Step 717.

In Step 723, the display control means (204, 214) imports data assignedpage numbers 1-n in Step 718 to the memory (103) in sequential order.

In Step 719, when there is more than one page in the electronicdocument, the display control means (204, 214) determines whether or notthe electronic document is composed of sections. When the electronicdocument is composed of sections, the display control means (204, 214)advances the process to Step 720. When the electronic document is notcomposed of sections, the display control means (204, 214) advances theprocess to Step 723. In Step 723, when it has been determined in Step719 that the electronic document is not composed of sections, thedisplay control means (204, 214) imports all of the pages of theelectronic document to the memory (103) in sequential order.

In Step 720, the detecting means (203, 213) determines whether or notthe operating finger of the user has been slid in a predetermineddirection. When the operating finger of the user has been slid in apredetermined direction, the detecting means (203, 213) advances theprocess to Step 721. When the operating finger of the user has not beenslid in a predetermined direction, the detecting means (203, 213)advances the process to Step 723. The operation performed when thefinger is not slid in a predetermined direction may also be performedwhen an instruction has not been received from the operating finger ofthe user after a predetermined period of time. Alternatively, thedetecting means (203, 213) may display a message on the screenindicating that the finger has not been slid in a predetermineddirection, or a message that all of the pages of the electronic documentwill be displayed.

In Step 721, the assigning means (206, 216) extracts the initial pagedata for each section from the electronic document, and assigns a fixedpage number (pages 1-n) to the extracted initial page data. Theassigning means (206, 216) creates a table, associates the fixed pagesnumbers with the original page numbers of the extracted initial pagedata, and registers the associations in the table, and stores the tablein the memory (103). The page number assignment in Step 721 is optional.The extracted initial page data may be used with the original pagenumbers.

In Step 722, the display control means (204, 214), the initial page dataassigned page numbers 1-n in Step 721 is imported in sequential order tothe memory (103). Alternatively, the display control means (204, 214)may import all of the extracted initial page data to the memory (103) insequential order when fixed page numbers (pages 1-n) have not beenassigned by the assigning means (206, 216) in Step 721.

When it has been determined in Step 720 that the operating finger of theuser has not been slid in a predetermined direction, the display controlmeans (204, 214) in Step 723 imports all of the pages of the electronicdocument to the memory (103) in successive order.

In Step 724, the device (101-1, 101-2) ends the process of importing anelectronic document composed of sections. A device (101-1) with a movingdistance-detecting sensor (202) then starts any one of the flowcharts inFIG. 8A through FIG. 8D in response to a user instruction. A device(101-2) with a pressure sensor (212) then starts any one of theflowcharts in FIG. 9A through FIG. 9D in response to a user instruction.

FIG. 8A is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention showinga process for comparing a page fixed using the moving distance-detectingsensor (202) to a bookmarked page in a transparent state. In Step 801,the device (101-1) starts the process of comparing a fixed page of theelectronic document to a bookmarked page in a transparent state. In thisprocess, the electronic document may be an electronic document in whicha single unit of display data has been divided and paginated (forexample, an electronic document shown in FIG. 3A through FIG. 3E), anelectronic document with a plurality of pages (for example, anelectronic document shown in FIG. 3F through FIG. 3H), or an electronicdocument composed of sections in which the initial page of each sectionhas been paginated (for example, an electronic document shown in FIG. 3Ithrough FIG. 3L). In this flowchart, the number of pages in theelectronic document is N pages (where N is an integer greater than one).

In Step 802, the device (101-1) allows the user to select the page withthe initial value. The page with the initial value may be selected andfixed by the user. As the user's operating finger approaches the screen,the sensor (202) detects movement of the operating finger, andinformation on the movement of the operating finger is sent to thedetecting means (203). The detecting means (203) determines the distanced from the operating finger to the screen. The display control means(204) of the device (101-1) displays the page corresponding to distanced in response to distance d between the operating finger and the screen.In order for the user to select and fix this page, the operating fingerheld over the screen is slid, for example, in a predetermined horizontaldirection relative to the screen (for example, horizontally to theleft).

In Step 803, when the detecting means (203) detects the sliding of anoperating finger in the predetermined horizontal direction, a request isissued to the display control means (204) to confirm whether the pagecorresponding to the distance d between the operating finger and thescreen prior to the horizontal sliding movement is to be set as theinitial page. When the user has entered confirmation that the pagecorresponding to distance d between the operating finger and the screenis to be the initial page, the display control means (204) advances theprocess to Step 804. When the user has not entered confirmation that thepage corresponding to distance d between the operating finger and thescreen is to be the initial page, the display control means (204)returns the process to Step 802 to allow the user to again select thepage with the initial value. Step 803 is included so that the user doesnot make any entry mistakes in Step 802. An entry mistake may occur whenthe user does not make a smooth movement with the operating finger andanother page is displayed on the screen.

In Step 804, when the user has entered confirmation that the pagecorresponding to distance d between the operating finger and the screenis to be the initial page, the detecting means (203) fixes the farthestdetectable distance d(1) within the detection range of the sensor (202)as the display position for the initial page (see Step 504 in FIG. 5A).

In Step 805, the detecting means (203) determines the distance intervalx(i) for detecting pages with the operating finger so that N pages inthe electronic document may be associated at these distance intervalsbetween the detection distance d(1) and the screen (that is, the pointat which the screen is touched). The detecting means (203) may dividethe detection distance d(1) so that the number of pages N corresponds tothe number of intervals x(i) between the detection distance d(1) and thescreen, and may set the detection distance d(1) for page association sothat the page turning speed decelerates as an operating finger movestowards the mid-point between the detection distance d(1) and the screenand then accelerates as the operating finger moves from the mid-point tothe screen.

In Step 806, the detecting means (203) detects the distance d from theuser's operating finger to the screen via the sensor (202). The displaycontrol means (204) then displays the i-th page corresponding todistance d on the screen. Also, the display control means (204)transparently displays the j-th page between the initial page and thei-th page (where j is an integer equal to or greater than 1) on top ofthe i-th page. The display control means (204) may determine the levelof transparency A(i, j) based on the distance d between the user'soperating finger and the screen (see Step 515 in FIG. 5B).

In Step 807, the display control means (204) allows the user todetermine whether or not the i-th page data is to be selected as acomparison page. The display control means (204) may, for example,display a pop up window that allows the user to select or not select thepage by clicking a button. When the user has indicated that the i-thpage has been selected as a comparison page, the display control means(204) advances the process to Step 808. When the user has indicated thatthe i-th page is not to be selected as a comparison page, the displaycontrol means (204) returns the process to Step 806. In Step 806, theprocess stands by to select a new i-th page based on movement of theuser's operating finger. It returns to Step 806 until an i-th page hasbeen selected as a comparison page.

In Step 808, the display control means (204) selects as the i-th page asthe comparison page in response to an instruction from the userselecting the i-th page as the comparison page.

In Step 809, the display control means (204) transparently displays theinitial page on top of the i-th page so that the initial page fixed inStep 804 may be compared to the i-th page selected in Step 808. The usermay compare the content of the initial page to the content of the i-thpage because the i-th page is visible from above via the transparentinitial page.

In Step 810, the user ends the comparison by sliding an operating fingerheld above the screen in a predetermined horizontal direction relativeto the screen (for example, horizontally to the left). The detectingmeans (203) detects the sliding of an operating finger in thepredetermined horizontal direction. The device (101-1) then ends thecomparison in response to detection of an operating finger sliding inthe predetermined horizontal direction.

FIG. 8B is a flowchart used to explain in detail the transparent displayin the flowchart indicated in Step 806 and Step 809 of FIG. 8A. In Step821, the device (101-1) starts the process for transparent display ofpages in the electronic document (screen comparison mode). In theprocess for transparent display of pages, the display control means(204) calculates the level of transparency A(n, j) for all of the pages(1, 2, 3, . . . , j, j+1, . . . , N−1, N) when an operating finger hasbeen used to select the i-th page of the electronic document. Finally,the pages are displayed on the screen based on these levels oftransparency. The i-th page selected with an operating finger isreferred to as the main page. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 8B, themain page is the page indicated as the main page by an operating fingerat a certain time. In this flowchart, the j-th page is a page in frontof the i-th page (that is, in the positive direction along an axispassing through the screen from behind according to the so-calledright-handed coordinates). In Step 826 below, the display control means(204) also calculates the degree of transparency for all pages behindthe i-th image (in the negative direction according to the right-handedcoordinates). However, for any j-th page behind the i-th page here, thetransparency level is set to 0% (that is, non-transparent). Because thei-th page is not transparent, no page behind the i-th page may be viewedtransparently.

In Step 822, the user moves an operating finger towards the screen toselect the main page for transparent display. The sensor (202) detectsmovement of an operating finger, and sends operating finger movementinformation to the detecting means (203). The detecting means (203)determines the distance d between the operating finger and the screen.Distance d in Step 822 corresponds to distance d in Step 806 of FIG. 8A.

In Step 823, the display control means (204) sets as the main page thei-th page corresponding to the distance d between the operating fingerand the screen just before the operating finger is slid horizontally.The main page number function is expressed as i=1num(d). Here, (d) isthe detection distance from the screen. The process in Step 823corresponds to the distance d detected by the sensor in Step 806 of theflowchart in FIG. 8A, and the main page number function is used in theprocessing for Step 806 for display of the i-th page.

In Step 824, the display control means (204) determines whether or notpage number j for the j-th page in the electronic document is the sameas page number i for the i-th page. Here, j is the page number of a pagewhose transparency level is to be determined. The display control means(204) performs the processing shown in FIG. 8B on all pages to bedisplayed on the screen (where j=1-N). When j does not equal 1 (that is,when page number j is not the same as page number i), the displaycontrol means (204) advances the process to Step 825. When j equals 1(that is, when page number j is the same as page number i), the displaycontrol means (204) returns the process to Step 824. This is because theprocessing in Step 825 below is not required when page number j is thesame as page number i. The display control means (204) introduces thevalue j+1 to j to sequentially increase j (that is, increase the pagenumber). In this way, the display control means (204) performstransparency processing on all of the pages to be displayed on thescreen (where j=1-N).

In Step 825, when page number j is not the same as page number i, thedisplay control means (204) determines the transparency level of thej-th page. The transparency function is expressed by A(d, j). Here, (d)is the detection distance from the screen. This transparency functionA(d, j) is the same as the level of transparency A(i, j) indicated inStep 806 of FIG. 8A, and the transparency function A(d, j) determined inStep 825 may be used in Step 806.

In Step 826, the display control means (204) determines whether the pagenumber j is smaller than the total number of pages N in the electronicdocument. When j is not less than N, the display control means (204)advances the process to Step 827. When j is less than N, the displaycontrol means (204) returns the process to Step 824. When j is equal toN, the transparency level is set to 0%. The processing in Step 826essentially may be performed in any step. Because the transparency levelof the i-th page is 0%, any page j between the i-th page and the Nthpage (i≤j<N) is usually not displayed. However, the transparency levelmay still be set for all pages. In this situation, the level oftransparency A(d, j) is set to 0%. When j=N, the transparency level ofthe j-th page is 0%.

In Step 827, the display control means (204) displays the i-th page,which is the main page, at a transparency level of 0%, and displays thetransparently processed j-th page on top of the i-th page.

In Step 828, the display control means (204) determines whether or notthere is an instruction to end the transparent display of pages.

In Step 829, when there is an instruction to end the transparent displayof pages (see Step 516 in FIG. 5B), the device (101-1) ends thetransparent display of pages from the electronic document (screencomparison mode).

FIG. 8C is a flowchart of the process for bookmarking two pages whichmay be executed in Step 806 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 8A. In Step831, the device (101-1) starts the process for bookmarking pages in theelectronic document.

In Step 832, the user's operating finger approaches the screen in orderto select the first page (i=i1) to be bookmarked. The sensor (202)detects movement of an operating finger, and operating finger movementinformation is sent to the detecting means (203). The detecting means(203) determines the distance d between the operating finger and thescreen. The process in Step 832 corresponds to the detection of distanced by the sensor in Step 806 shown in FIG. 8A.

In Step 833, the display control means (204) determines the page numberin the electronic document that corresponds to distance d between theoperating finger and the screen. In other words, the display controlmeans (204) determines the page number corresponding to distance d ispage number i1. The display page number function is expressed byi1=1num(d). Here, (d) is the detection distance from the screen.

In Step 834, the display control means (204) displays the i1-th pagedetermined in Step 833 on the screen. The process in Step 834corresponds to the display of the i-th page in Step 806 shown in FIG.8A. Here, i=i1.

In Step 835, the display control means (204) receives a decision fromthe user whether or not the i1-th page is to be bookmarked. When theuser decides to bookmark the i1-th page, the user, for example, slidesan operating finger horizontally in a predetermined direction. When theuser decides not to bookmark the i1-th page, the user, for example,slides an operating finger horizontally in the direction opposite thatof the predetermined direction. When the i1-th page has been bookmarked,the display control means (204) advances the process to Step 836. Whenthe i1-th page is not to be bookmarked, the display control means (204)returns the process to Step 832, movement of the user's operating fingeris detected, and Steps 832 through 835 are repeated.

In Step 836, when an instruction to bookmark the i1-th page is received,the display control means (204) bookmarks the i1-th page. The displaycontrol means (204) may place an icon (such as a bookmark), a mark or asymbol on the bookmarked page (for example, in the upper right-handcorner) to indicate that the page has been bookmarked. The displaycontrol means (204) writes information on the bookmarked page (forexample, the page number) in, for example, a table. This table may bereferenced when bookmarked pages are to be displayed transparently. Thedisplay control means (204) then advances the process to Step 837 inorder to bookmark another page.

In Step 837, the user's operating finger approaches the screen in orderto select the second page (i=i2) to be bookmarked. The sensor (202)detects movement of an operating finger, and operating finger movementinformation is sent to the detecting means (203). The detecting means(203) determines the distance d between the operating finger and thescreen. The process in Step 837 corresponds to the detection of distanced by the sensor in Step 806 shown in FIG. 8A.

In Step 838, the display control means (204) determines the page numberin the electronic document that corresponds to distance d between theoperating finger and the screen. In other words, the display controlmeans (204) determines the page number corresponding to distance d ispage number i2. The display page number function is expressed byi2=1num(d). Here, (d) is the detection distance from the screen.

In Step 839, the display control means (204) displays the i2-th pagedetermined in Step 838 on the screen. The process in Step 839corresponds to the display of the i-th page in Step 806 shown in FIG.8A. Here, i=i2.

In Step 840, the display control means (204) receives a decision fromthe user whether or not the i2-th page is to be bookmarked. When theuser decides to bookmark the i2-th page, the user, for example, slidesan operating finger horizontally in a predetermined direction. When theuser decides not to bookmark the i2-th page, the user, for example,slides an operating finger horizontally in the direction opposite thatof the predetermined direction. The i2-th page is not bookmarked wheni2=i1. When the i2-th page has been bookmarked, the display controlmeans (204) advances the process to Step 841. When the i2-th page is notto be bookmarked, the display control means (204) returns the process toStep 837, movement of the user's operating finger is detected, and Steps837 through 840 are repeated.

In Step 841, when an instruction to bookmark the i2-th page is received,the display control means (204) bookmarks the i2-th page. As in Step836, the display control means (204) may place a mark on the bookmarkedpage to indicate that the page has been bookmarked.

In Step 842, the device (101-1) ends the process of bookmarking pages inthe electronic document when the two pages shown in Step 836 and Step841 have been bookmarked.

In Step 834, the processing for transparent display shown in FIG. 8B maybe applied to transparently display the pages in front of the i1-thpage. Similarly, in Step 839, the processing for transparent displayshown in FIG. 8B may be applied to transparently display the pages infront of the i2-th page.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 8C, two pages were bookmarked. These twobookmarked pages may be displayed so that the i1-th page bookmarkedfirst is displayed on the screen farthest from the i2-th page bookmarkednext.

By repeating Steps 832 through 836 shown in FIG. 8C, this flowchart maybe used even when the number of pages in the electronic document is N(where N is an integer). When the number of pages in the electronicdocument is N, Steps 832 through Step 835 may be repeated until i equalsN in Step 835. Here, a step may be added after Step 836 to determinewhether the bookmarking process has been completed.

FIG. 8D is a flowchart of the process for bookmarking n pages (where nis an integer equal to or greater than 2) which may be executed in Step806 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 8A. In Step 851, the device (101-1)starts the process for bookmarking pages in the electronic document.This process is performed in Step 806 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 8A.

In Step 852, the user's operating finger approaches the screen in orderto select the first page to be bookmarked. The sensor (202) detectsmovement of an operating finger, and operating finger movementinformation is sent to the detecting means (203). The detecting means(203) determines the distance d between the operating finger and thescreen. The process in Step 852 corresponds to the detection of distanced by the sensor in Step 806 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 8A.

In Step 853, the display control means (204) determines the page numberin the electronic document that corresponds to distance d between theoperating finger and the screen. In other words, the display controlmeans (204) determines the page number corresponding to distance d ispage number i. The display page number function is expressed byi=1num(d). Here, (d) is the detection distance from the screen. Theprocess in Step 853 corresponds to the detection of distance d by thesensor in Step 806 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 8A.

In Step 854, the transparent image display processing shown in FIG. 8Bis performed. For more details, refer to the explanation of each step inFIG. 8B. The i-th page shown in FIG. 853 corresponds to the main pageshown in Step 823 of FIG. 8B.

In Step 855, the display control means (204) receives a decision fromthe user whether or not the i-th page is to be bookmarked. When the userdecides to bookmark the i-th page, the user, for example, slides anoperating finger horizontally in a predetermined direction. When theuser decides not to bookmark the i-th page, the user, for example,slides an operating finger horizontally in the direction opposite thatof the predetermined direction. When the i-th page has been bookmarked,the display control means (204) advances the process to Step 856. Whenthe i-th page is not to be bookmarked, the display control means (204)returns the process to Step 852, movement of the user's operating fingeris detected, and Steps 852 through 855 are repeated.

In Step 856, when an instruction to bookmark the i-th page is received,the display control means (204) bookmarks the i-th page. The displaycontrol means (204) may place an icon (such as a bookmark), a mark or asymbol on the bookmarked page (for example, in the upper right-handcorner) to indicate that the page has been bookmarked. The displaycontrol means (204) writes information on the bookmarked page (forexample, the page number) in, for example, a table. This table may bereferenced when bookmarked pages are to be displayed transparently.

When the bookmarking shown in Step 856 has been completed, the processwaits for a decision from the user in Step 857 as to whether thebookmarking is complete. When the user has completed the bookmarkingprocess, an operating finger is slid, for example, horizontally in apredetermined direction, or the screen is double- or triple-clicked.Alternatively, the display control means (204) may display a pop upwindow on the screen when the bookmarking shown in Step 856 has beencompleted so the user may select to continue or end the bookmarkingprocess. When the bookmarking process has not been completed, thedisplay control means (204) returns the process to Step 852. When acompletion operation has not been received from the user after apredetermined amount of time, the display control means (204) maydetermine that the bookmarking operation has not been completed. Thedisplay control means (204) repeats Steps 852 through 856, and the pagebookmarking process is repeated until the bookmarking process has beencompleted for a plurality of pages.

In Step 858, the device (101-1) ends the process for bookmarking pagesof the electronic document when bookmarking has been completed.

FIG. 8E is a flowchart showing the process for displaying in atransparent state pages that were bookmarked in the flowchart shown inFIG. 8C or FIG. 8D. In Step 861, the device (101-1) starts the processof comparison using the transparent state. More specifically, theprocess may be started when the bookmarking process shown in FIG. 8C orthe bookmarking process shown in FIG. 8D has been completed. Theelectronic documents used in FIG. 8E include only bookmarked documentsobtained in the flowcharts shown in FIG. 8C and FIG. 8D. Alternatively,it may be arranged so that electronic documents used in FIG. 8E may onlybe selected from among those bookmarked in the flowcharts shown in FIG.8C and FIG. 8D.

In Step 862, the operating finger of the user approaches the screen. Thesensor (202) detects movement of an operating finger, and operatingfinger movement information is sent to the detecting means (203). Thedetecting means (203) determines the distance d from the operatingfinger to the screen. The detecting means (203) then sends thedetermined distance d to the display control means (204).

In Step 863, the display control means (204) determines the page numberof the bookmarked page corresponding to the distance d between theoperating finger and the screen. In other words, the display controlmeans (204) determines that the bookmarked page corresponding todistance d is the i-th page. The display page number function isexpressed as i=1num(d). Here, (d) is the detection distance from thescreen. When the determined distance d has been received, the displaycontrol means (204) performs internally the processing performed by thedisplay control means (204) shown in Step 864 through Step 867.

In Step 864, the display control means (204) determines whether or notpage number j for the j-th page in the electronic document is the sameas page number i for the i-th page. Here, j is the page number of a pagewhose transparency level is to be determined. The display control means(204) performs the processing shown in FIG. 8E on all pages to bedisplayed on the screen (where j=1-N). When j does not equal 1 (that is,when page number j is not the same as page number i), the displaycontrol means (204) advances the process to Step 865. When j equals 1(that is, when page number j is the same as page number i), the displaycontrol means (204) returns the process to Step 864. This is because theprocessing in Step 865 below is not required when page number j is thesame as page number i. The display control means (204) introduces thevalue j+1 to j to sequentially increase j (that is, increase the pagenumber). In this way, the display control means (204) performstransparency processing on all of the pages to be displayed on thescreen (where j=1-N).

In Step 865, when page number j is not the same as page number i, thedisplay control means (204) determines the transparency level of thej-th page. The transparency function is expressed by Amrk(d, j). Thistransparency function Amrk(d, j) is the same as the level oftransparency Amrk(i, j) indicated in Step 806 of FIG. 8A, and thetransparency function Amrk(d, j) determined in Step 865 may be used inStep 806.

In Step 866, the display control means (204) determines whether pagenumber j is smaller than the total number of pages N bookmarked in FIG.8C or FIG. 8D (that is, N equals the number of bookmarks). When j is notless than Nmrk (where Nmrk is the number of bookmarks), the displaycontrol means (204) advances the process to Step 867. When j is lessthan Nmrk, the display control means (204) returns the process to Step864. When j is equal to Nmrk, the transparency level is set to 0%. Theprocessing in Step 866 essentially may be performed in any step. Becausethe transparency level of the i-th page is 0%, any page j between thei-th page and the Nth page (i≤j<N) is usually not displayed. However,the transparency level may still be set for all pages. In thissituation, the level of transparency Amrk(d, j) is set to 0%. Whenj=Nmrk, the transparency level of the j-th page is 0%.

In Step 867, the display control means (204) displays the i-th page,which is the main page, at a transparency level of 0%, and displays thetransparently processed j-th page on top of the i-th page.

In Step 868, the display control means (204) determines whether or notthere is an instruction to end the transparent display of pages.

In Step 869, when there is an instruction to end the transparent displayof pages (see Step 516 in FIG. 5B), the display control means (204) endsthe transparent display of pages from the electronic document (screencomparison mode) and returns to the normal display mode (that is, thedisplay mode prior to the screen comparison mode).

In Step 870, when the screen has changed to the normal display mode, thedevice (101-1) ends the process of comparison using the transparentstate.

FIG. 9A is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention showinga process for comparing a page fixed using the pressure sensor (212) toa bookmarked page in a transparent state. In Step 901, the device(101-2) starts the process of comparing a fixed page of the electronicdocument to a bookmarked page in a transparent state. In this process,the electronic document may be an electronic document in which a singleunit of display data has been divided and paginated (for example, anelectronic document shown in FIG. 3A through FIG. 3E), an electronicdocument with a plurality of pages (for example, an electronic documentshown in FIG. 3F through FIG. 3H), or an electronic document composed ofsections in which the initial page of each section has been paginated(for example, an electronic document shown in FIG. 3I through FIG. 3L).In this flowchart, the number of pages in the electronic document is Npages (where N is an integer greater than one).

In Step 902, the device (101-2) allows the user to select the page withthe initial value. The page with the initial value may be selected andfixed by the user. As the user's operating finger approaches the screen,the pressure sensor (212) detects pressure p applied to the screen bythe operating finger, and pressure p information is sent to thedetecting means (213). The detecting means (213) determines the amountof pressure p applied by the operating finger to the screen. The displaycontrol means (214) of the device (101-2) displays the pagecorresponding to the amount of pressure p. In order for the user toselect and fix this page, the operating finger held over the screen isslid, for example, in a predetermined horizontal direction relative tothe screen (for example, horizontally to the left).

In Step 903, when the detecting means (213) detects the sliding of anoperating finger in the predetermined horizontal direction, a request isissued to the display control means (214) to confirm whether the pagecorresponding to the amount of pressure p prior to the horizontalsliding movement is to be set as the initial page. When the user hasentered confirmation that the page corresponding to the amount ofpressure p is to be the initial page, the display control means (214)advances the process to Step 904. When the user has not enteredconfirmation that the page corresponding to the amount of pressure p isto be the initial page, the display control means (214) returns theprocess to Step 902 to allow the user to again select the page with theinitial value. Step 903 is included so that the user does not make anyentry mistakes in Step 902. An entry mistake may occur when the userdoes not make a smooth movement with the operating finger and anotherpage is displayed on the screen.

In Step 904, when the user has entered confirmation that the pagecorresponding to the amount of pressure p is to be the initial page, thedetecting means (213) fixes the state at which the pressure sensor (212)detects zero pressure (the zero pressure state) p(1) as the displayposition for the initial page.

In Step 905, the detecting means (213) determines the pressure px(i)corresponding to each page between the zero pressure state and a stateexceeding a predetermined numerical value detected by the pressuresensor (212) (the maximum pressure state) so that all N pages in theelectronic document may be associated. The detecting means (213) dividesthe pressure from the zero pressure state to the maximum pressure stateequally by N, which is the corresponding number of pages. Alternatively,the detecting means may set the pressure for page association so thatthe page turning speed decelerates as the mid-point between the zeropressure state and maximum pressure state is approached, and thenaccelerates as the pressure approaches the maximum pressure state fromthe mid-point.

In Step 906, the detecting means (213) detects the amount of pressure papplied by the user's operating finger to the screen via the pressuresensor (212). The display control means (214) then displays the i-thpage corresponding to amount of pressure p applied to the screen. Also,the display control means (214) transparently displays the j-th pagebetween the initial page and the i-th page (where j is an integer equalto or greater than 1) on top of the i-th page. The display control means(214) may determine the level of transparency A(i, j) based on theamount of pressure p (see Step 614 in FIG. 6B).

In Step 907, the display control means (214) allows the user todetermine whether or not the i-th page data is to be selected as acomparison page. The display control means (214) may, for example,display a pop up window that allows the user to select or not select thepage by clicking a button. When the user has indicated that the i-thpage has been selected as a comparison page, the display control means(214) advances the process to Step 908. When the user has indicated thatthe i-th page is not to be selected as a comparison page, the displaycontrol means (214) returns the process to Step 906. In Step 906, theprocess stands by to select a new i-th page based on movement of theuser's operating finger. It returns to Step 906 until an i-th page hasbeen selected as a comparison page.

In Step 908, the display control means (214) selects as the i-th page asthe comparison page in response to an instruction from the userselecting the i-th page as the comparison page.

In Step 909, the display control means (214) transparently displays theinitial page on top of the i-th page so that the initial page fixed inStep 904 may be compared to the i-th page selected in Step 908. The usermay compare the content of the initial page to the content of the i-thpage because the i-th page is visible from above via the transparentinitial page.

In Step 910, the user ends the comparison by sliding an operating fingerheld above the screen in a predetermined horizontal direction relativeto the screen (for example, horizontally to the left). The detectingmeans (213) detects the sliding of an operating finger in thepredetermined horizontal direction. The device (101-2) then ends thecomparison in response to detection of an operating finger sliding inthe predetermined horizontal direction.

FIG. 9B is a flowchart used to explain in detail the transparent displayin the flowchart indicated in Step 906 and Step 909 of FIG. 9A. In Step921, the device (101-2) starts the process for transparent display ofpages in the electronic document (screen comparison mode). In theprocess for transparent display of pages, the display control means(214) calculates the level of transparency A(n, j) for all of the pages(1, 2, 3, . . . , j, j+1, . . . , N−1, N) when an operating finger hasbeen used to select the i-th page of the electronic document. Finally,the pages are displayed on the screen based on these levels oftransparency. The i-th page selected with an operating finger isreferred to as the main page. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 9B, themain page is the page indicated as the main page by an operating fingerat a certain time. In this flowchart, the j-th page is a page in frontof the i-th page (that is, in the positive direction along an axispassing through the screen from behind according to the so-calledright-handed coordinates). In Step 926 below, the display control means(214) also calculates the degree of transparency for all pages behindthe i-th image (in the negative direction according to the right-handedcoordinates). However, for any j-th page behind the i-th page here, thetransparency level is set to 0% (that is, non-transparent). Because thei-th page is not transparent, no page behind the i-th page may be viewedtransparently.

In Step 922, the user moves an operating finger towards the screen toselect the main page for transparent display. The pressure sensor (212)detects pressure applied by an operating finger, and sends pressureinformation to the detecting means (213). The detecting means (213)determines the amount of pressure p. The pressure in Step 922corresponds to the pressure in Step 806 of FIG. 8A.

In Step 923, the display control means (214) sets as the main page thei-th page corresponding to the pressure p just before the operatingfinger is slid horizontally. The main page number function is expressedas i=1num(p). Here, (p) is the amount of pressure applied to the screen.The process in Step 923 corresponds to the pressure p detected by thesensor in Step 906 of the flowchart in FIG. 9A, and the main page numberfunction is used in the processing for Step 906 for display of the i-thpage.

In Step 924, the display control means (214) determines whether or notpage number j for the j-th page in the electronic document is the sameas page number i for the i-th page. Here, j is the page number of a pagewhose transparency level is to be determined. The display control means(214) performs the processing shown in FIG. 9B on all pages to bedisplayed on the screen (where j=1-N). When j does not equal 1 (that is,when page number j is not the same as page number i), the displaycontrol means (214) advances the process to Step 925. When j equals i(that is, when page number j is the same as page number i), the displaycontrol means (214) returns the process to Step 924. This is because theprocessing in Step 925 below is not required when page number j is thesame as page number i. The display control means (214) introduces thevalue j+1 to j to sequentially increase j (that is, increase the pagenumber). In this way, the display control means (214) performstransparency processing on all of the pages to be displayed on thescreen (where j=1-N).

In Step 925, when page number j is not the same as page number i, thedisplay control means (214) determines the transparency level of thej-th page. The transparency function is expressed by A(p, j). Here, (p)is the pressure applied to the screen. This transparency function A(p,j) is the same as the level of transparency A(i, j) indicated in Step906 of FIG. 9A, and the transparency function A(p, j) determined in Step925 may be used in Step 906.

In Step 926, the display control means (214) determines whether pagenumber j is smaller than the total number of pages N in the electronicdocument. When j is not less than N, the display control means (214)advances the process to Step 927. When j is less than N, the displaycontrol means (214) returns the process to Step 924. When j is equal toN, the transparency level is set to 0%. The processing in Step 926essentially may be performed in any step. Because the transparency levelof the i-th page is 0%, any page j between the i-th page and the Nthpage (i≤j<N) is usually not displayed. However, the transparency levelmay still be set for all pages. In this situation, the level oftransparency A(p, j) is set to 0%. When j=N, the transparency level ofthe j-th page is 0%.

In Step 927, the display control means (214) displays the i-th page,which is the main page, at a transparency level of 0%, and displays thetransparently processed j-th page on top of the i-th page.

In Step 928, the display control means (214) determines whether or notthere is an instruction to end the transparent display of pages.

In Step 929, when there is an instruction to end the transparent displayof pages (see Step 615 in FIG. 6B), the device (101-2) ends thetransparent display of pages from the electronic document (screencomparison mode).

FIG. 9C is a flowchart of the process for bookmarking two pages whichmay be executed in Step 906 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 9A. In Step931, the device (101-2) starts the process for bookmarking pages in theelectronic document.

In Step 932, the user's operating finger approaches the screen in orderto select the first page (i=i1) to be bookmarked. The pressure sensor(212) detects the pressure p applied by the operating finger to thescreen, and pressure information is sent to the detecting means (213).The detecting means (213) determines the amount of pressure p. Theprocess in Step 932 corresponds to the amount of pressure p detected bythe sensor in Step 906 shown in FIG. 9A.

In Step 933, the display control means (214) determines the page numberin the electronic document that corresponds to the amount of pressure p.In other words, the display control means (214) determines the pagenumber corresponding to the pressure p is page number i1. The displaypage number function is expressed by i1=1num(p). Here, (p) is thepressure applied to the screen.

In Step 934, the display control means (214) displays the i1-th pagedetermined in Step 933 on the screen. This process corresponds to thedisplay of the i-th page in Step 906 shown in FIG. 9A. Here, i=i1.

In Step 935, the display control means (214) receives a decision fromthe user whether or not the i1-th page is to be bookmarked. When theuser decides to bookmark the i1-th page, the user, for example, slidesan operating finger horizontally in a predetermined direction. When theuser decides not to bookmark the i1-th page, the user, for example,slides an operating finger horizontally in the direction opposite thatof the predetermined direction. When the i1-th page has been bookmarked,the display control means (214) advances the process to Step 936. Whenthe i1-th page is not to be bookmarked, the display control means (214)returns the process to Step 932, amount of pressure p applied to thescreen by the user's operating finger is detected, and Steps 932 through935 are repeated.

In Step 936, when an instruction to bookmark the i1-th page is received,the display control means (214) bookmarks the i1-th page. The displaycontrol means (214) may place an icon (such as a bookmark), a mark or asymbol on the bookmarked page (for example, in the upper right-handcorner) to indicate that the page has been bookmarked. The displaycontrol means (214) writes information on the bookmarked page (forexample, the page number) in, for example, a table. This table may bereferenced when bookmarked pages are to be displayed transparently. Thedisplay control means (214) then advances the process to Step 937 inorder to bookmark another page.

In Step 937, the user's operating finger approaches the screen in orderto select the second page (i=i2) to be bookmarked. The pressure sensor(212) detects the amount of pressure applied by the operating finger tothe screen, and pressure information is sent to the detecting means(213). The detecting means (213) determines the amount of pressure papplied by the operating finger to the screen. The process in Step 932corresponds to the detection of pressure p by the sensor in Step 906shown in FIG. 9A.

In Step 938, the display control means (214) determines the page numberin the electronic document that corresponds to amount of pressure papplied by the operating finger to the screen. In other words, thedisplay control means (214) determines the page number corresponding topressure p is page number i2. The display page number function isexpressed by i2=1num(p). Here, (p) is the amount of pressure p appliedto the screen.

In Step 939, the display control means (214) displays the i2-th pagedetermined in Step 938 on the screen. The process in Step 939corresponds to the display of the i-th page in Step 906 shown in FIG.9A. Here, i=i2.

In Step 940, the display control means (214) receives a decision fromthe user whether or not the i2-th page is to be bookmarked. When theuser decides to bookmark the i2-th page, the user, for example, slidesan operating finger horizontally in a predetermined direction. When theuser decides not to bookmark the i2-th page, the user, for example,slides an operating finger horizontally in the direction opposite thatof the predetermined direction. The i2-th page is not bookmarked wheni2=i1. When the i2-th page has been bookmarked, the display controlmeans (214) advances the process to Step 941. When the i2-th page is notto be bookmarked, the display control means (204) returns the process toStep 937, the amount of pressure p applied by the user's operatingfinger to the screen is detected, and Steps 937 through 940 arerepeated.

In Step 941, when an instruction to bookmark the i2-th page is received,the display control means (214) bookmarks the i2-th page. As in Step936, the display control means (214) may place a mark on the bookmarkedpage to indicate that the page has been bookmarked.

In Step 942, the device (101-2) ends the process of bookmarking pages inthe electronic document when the two pages shown in Step 936 and Step941 have been bookmarked.

In Step 934, the processing for transparent display shown in FIG. 9B maybe applied to transparently display the pages in front of the i1-thpage. Similarly, in Step 939, the processing for transparent displayshown in FIG. 9B may be applied to transparently display the pages infront of the i2-th page.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 9C, two pages were bookmarked. These twobookmarked pages may be displayed so that the i1-th page bookmarkedfirst is displayed on the screen farthest from the i2-th page bookmarkednext.

By repeating Steps 932 through 936 shown in FIG. 9C, this flowchart maybe used even when the number of pages in the electronic document is N(where N is an integer). When the number of pages in the electronicdocument is N, Steps 932 through Step 935 may be repeated until i equalsN in Step 935. Here, a step may be added after Step 936 to determinewhether the bookmarking process has been completed.

FIG. 9D is a flowchart of the process for bookmarking n pages (where nis an integer equal to or greater than 2) which may be executed in Step806 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 8A. In Step 951, the device (101-2)starts the process for bookmarking pages in the electronic document.This process is performed in Step 906 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 9A.

In Step 952, the user applies pressure to the screen with an operatingfinger in order to select the first page to be bookmarked. The pressuresensor (212) detects the pressure p applied to the screen by theoperating finger, and pressure information is sent to the detectingmeans (213). The detecting means (213) determines the amount of pressurep. The process in Step 952 corresponds to the detection of pressure p bythe sensor in Step 906 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 9A.

In Step 953, the display control means (214) determines the page numberin the electronic document that corresponds to the pressure p. In otherwords, the display control means (214) determines that the page numbercorresponding to pressure p is page number i. The display page numberfunction is expressed by i=1num(p). Here, (p) is the amount of pressureapplied to the screen. The process in Step 953 corresponds to thedetection of pressure p by the sensor in Step 906 of the flowchart shownin FIG. 9A.

In Step 954, the transparent image display processing shown in FIG. 9Bis performed. For more details, refer to the explanation of each step inFIG. 9B. The i-th page shown in FIG. 953 corresponds to the main pageshown in Step 823 of FIG. 8B.

In Step 955, the display control means (214) receives a decision fromthe user whether or not the i-th page is to be bookmarked. When the userdecides to bookmark the i-th page, the user, for example, slides anoperating finger horizontally in a predetermined direction. When theuser decides not to bookmark the i-th page, the user, for example,slides an operating finger horizontally in the direction opposite thatof the predetermined direction. When the i-th page has been bookmarked,the display control means (214) advances the process to Step 956. Whenthe i-th page is not to be bookmarked, the display control means (214)returns the process to Step 952, amount of pressure applied to thescreen by the user's operating finger is detected, and Steps 952 through955 are repeated.

In Step 956, when an instruction to bookmark the i-th page is received,the display control means (214) bookmarks the i-th page. The displaycontrol means (214) may place an icon (such as a bookmark), a mark or asymbol on the bookmarked page (for example, in the upper right-handcorner) to indicate that the page has been bookmarked. The displaycontrol means (214) writes information on the bookmarked page (forexample, the page number) in, for example, a table. This table may bereferenced when bookmarked pages are to be displayed transparently.

When the bookmarking shown in Step 956 has been completed, the processwaits for a decision from the user in Step 957 as to whether thebookmarking is complete. When the user has completed the bookmarkingprocess, an operating finger is slid, for example, horizontally in apredetermined direction, or the screen is double- or triple-clicked.Alternatively, the display control means (214) may display a pop upwindow on the screen when the bookmarking shown in Step 956 has beencompleted so the user may select to continue or end the bookmarkingprocess. When the bookmarking process has not been completed, thedisplay control means (214) returns the process to Step 952. When acompletion operation has not been received from the user after apredetermined amount of time, the display control means (214) maydetermine that the bookmarking operation has not been completed. Thedisplay control means (214) repeats Steps 952 through 956, and the pagebookmarking process is repeated until the bookmarking process has beencompleted for a plurality of pages.

In Step 958, the device (101-2) ends the process for bookmarking pagesof the electronic document when bookmarking has been completed.

FIG. 9E is a flowchart showing the process for displaying in atransparent state pages that were bookmarked in the flowchart shown inFIG. 9C or FIG. 9D. In Step 961, the device (101-2) starts the processof comparison using the transparent state. More specifically, theprocess may be started when the bookmarking process shown in FIG. 9C orthe bookmarking process shown in FIG. 9D has been completed. Theelectronic documents used in FIG. 9E include only bookmarked documentsobtained in the flowcharts shown in FIG. 9C and FIG. 9D. Alternatively,it may be arranged so that electronic documents used in FIG. 9E may onlybe selected from among those bookmarked in the flowcharts shown in FIG.9C and FIG. 9D.

In Step 962, the user applies pressure to the screen with an operatingfinger. The pressure sensor (212) pressure p applied to the screen by anoperating finger, and pressure movement information is sent to thedetecting means (213). The detecting means (213) determines the amountof pressure p. The detecting means (213) then sends the determinedpressure p to the display control means (214).

In Step 963, the display control means (214) determines the page numberof the bookmarked page corresponding to the amount of pressure p. Inother words, the display control means (214) determines that thebookmarked page corresponding to pressure p is the i-th page. Thedisplay page number function is expressed as i=1num(p). Here, (p) is theamount of pressure applied to the screen. When the determined pressure phas been received, the display control means (214) performs internallythe processing performed by the display control means (214) shown inStep 964 through Step 967.

In Step 964, the display control means (214) determines whether or notpage number j for the j-th page in the electronic document is the sameas page number i for the i-th page. Here, j is the page number of a pagewhose transparency level is to be determined. The display control means(214) performs the processing shown in FIG. 9E on all pages to bedisplayed on the screen (where j=1-N). When j does not equal 1 (that is,when page number j is not the same as page number i), the displaycontrol means (214) advances the process to Step 965. When j equals(that is, when page number j is the same as page number i), the displaycontrol means (214) returns the process to Step 964. This is because theprocessing in Step 965 below is not required when page number j is thesame as page number i. The display control means (214) introduces thevalue j+1 to j to sequentially increase j (that is, increase the pagenumber). In this way, the display control means (214) performstransparency processing on all of the pages to be displayed on thescreen (where j=1-N).

In Step 965, when page number j is not the same as page number i, thetransparency level of the j-th page is determined. The transparencyfunction is expressed by Amrk(p, j). Here, Amrk(p) is the amount ofpressure applied to the screen. This transparency function Amrk(p, j) isthe same as the level of transparency Amrk(i, j) indicated in Step 906of FIG. 9A, and the transparency function Amrk(p, j) determined in Step965 may be used in Step 906.

In Step 966, the display control means (214) determines whether pagenumber j is smaller than the total number of pages N bookmarked in FIG.9C or FIG. 9D (that is, N equals the number of bookmarks). When j is notless than Nmrk (where Nmrk is the number of bookmarks), the displaycontrol means (214) advances the process to Step 967. When j is lessthan Nmrk, the display control means (214) returns the process to Step964. When j is less than Nmrk (sic), the transparency level is set to0%. Because the transparency level of the i-th page is 0%, any page jbetween the i-th page and the Nth page (i≤j<N) is usually not displayed.However, the transparency level may still be set for all pages. In thissituation, the level of transparency Amrk(p, j) is set to 0%. Whenj=Nmrk, the transparency level of the j-th page is 0%.

In Step 967, the display control means (214) displays the i-th page,which is the main page, at a transparency level of 0%, and displays thetransparently processed j-th page on top of the i-th page.

In Step 968, the display control means (214) determines whether or notthere is an instruction to end the transparent display of pages.

In Step 969, when there is an instruction to end the transparent displayof pages (see Step 615 in FIG. 6B), the display control means (214) endsthe transparent display of pages from the electronic document (screencomparison mode) and returns to the normal display mode (that is, thedisplay mode prior to the screen comparison mode).

In Step 970, when the screen has changed to the normal display mode, thedevice (101-2) ends the process of comparison using the transparentstate.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, amagnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium maybe any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use byor in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as JAVA, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention have been described with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablestorage medium produce an article of manufacture including instructionswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

A data processing system suitable for storing and/or executing programcode will include at least one processor coupled directly or indirectlyto memory elements through a system bus. The memory elements can includelocal memory employed during actual execution of the program code, bulkstorage, and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at leastsome program code in order to reduce the number of times code must beretrieved from bulk storage during execution.

Input/output or I/O devices (including but not limited to keyboards,displays, pointing devices, etc.) can be coupled to the system eitherdirectly or through intervening I/O controllers.

Network adapters may also be coupled to the system to enable the dataprocessing system to become coupled to other data processing systems orremote printers or storage devices through intervening private or publicnetworks. Modems, cable modems and Ethernet cards are just a few of thecurrently available types of network adapters.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for displaying an electronic document,comprising: obtaining the electronic document as a single unit ofdisplay data divided by a display size of a screen into a plurality ofpage data sets; using a display configured to sense movement of amovable object in a vertical direction relative to the screen and withthe display configured such that each of the plurality of page data setsof the electronic document is associated in a sequence with a respectivedifferent one of a plurality of detection levels within a movementdetection range of the display, where the display is configured by:dividing a distance from a farthest extent of the movement detectionrange of the display to a surface of the screen into a plurality ofsequential equal detection distance intervals equal in number to anumber of the divided plurality of page data sets; establishing each ofthe plurality of sequential equal detection distance intervals as arespective different one of the plurality of detection levels within themovement detection range of the display with which a respective one ofthe plurality of page data sets of the electronic document is associatedin the sequence; and configuring the display such that sensing amovement from the farthest extent of the movement detection range of thedisplay closer to a mid-point of the plurality of sequential equaldetection distance intervals causes acceleration of display of differentrespective assigned ones of the divided plurality of page data sets andsensing a movement from the mid-point of the plurality of sequentialequal detection distance intervals closer to the surface of the displaycauses deceleration of the display of different respective assigned onesof the divided plurality of page data sets; the method furthercomprising: displaying on the screen, in response to sensing movementvia the display, a page data set corresponding to a detection level inthe movement detection range in accordance with the sensed movement; andautomatically adjusting display speed changes while displaying differentones of the plurality of page data sets in accordance with a movingspeed of the sensed movement.
 2. The method of claim 1, where thesensing of movement in the vertical direction is performed by a sensorconfigured to detect movement in the vertical direction of an object inclose proximity to the screen, where the display is equipped with thesensor, and where displaying the page data set on the screen comprisesdisplaying the page data set corresponding to a moving distance of theobject in the vertical direction when the object is within the movementdetection range of the sensor.
 3. The method of claim 2, where theplurality of page data sets comprise a plurality of paginated units thatare each extracted from the electronic document to fit within a displayarea of the screen.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:dividing the single unit of display data by the display size of thescreen into the plurality of page data sets in accordance with receptionof an instruction to divide the single unit of display data; andassigning page numbers to the plurality of divided page data sets. 5.The method of claim 2, where displaying on the screen, in response tosensing the movement via the display, the page data set corresponding tothe detection level in the movement detection range in accordance withthe sensed movement comprises fixing a display of the page data setbeing displayed on the screen in accordance with a sliding of the objectin a predetermined direction within the movement detection range of thesensor.
 6. The method of claim 5, where displaying on the screen, inresponse to sensing the movement via the display, the page data setcorresponding to the detection level in the movement detection range inaccordance with the sensed movement comprises one of: (i) displaying, asa transparent display on top of the fixed page data set display, one ofa selectable set of transparent page options comprising: one or morepage data sets prior to a page number of the fixed page data setdisplay; one or more page data sets subsequent to the page number of thefixed page data set display; and a group of page data sets including acombination of the one or more page data sets; or (ii) displaying, asthe transparent display, the fixed page data set display on top of oneof the selectable set of transparent page options comprising: the one ormore page data sets prior to the page number of the fixed page data setdisplay: the one or more page data sets subsequent to the page number ofthe fixed page data set display; and the group of page data setsincluding the combination of the one or more page data sets.
 7. Themethod of claim 5, where displaying on the screen, in response tosensing the movement via the display, the page data set corresponding tothe detection level in the movement detection range in accordance withthe sensed movement further comprises, after fixing the display of thepage data set, one of: transparently displaying a bookmarked page dataset on top of the fixed page data set; or transparently displaying thefixed page data set display on top of the bookmarked page data set. 8.The method of claim 5, where displaying on the screen, in response tosensing the movement via the display, the page data set corresponding tothe detection level in the movement detection range in accordance withthe sensed movement further comprises, after fixing the display of thepage data set, releasing the fixed page data set display.
 9. The methodof claim 2, where the farthest extent of the movement detection range ofthe display comprises one of a farthest point in the movement detectionrange of the sensor in the vertical direction or a point at apredetermined distance from the surface of the screen within themovement detection range of the sensor in the vertical direction atwhich the object may be present, and the farthest extent of the movementdetection range of the display is set as an initial page data set, andpage data sets with a larger page number relative to the set initialpage data set are displayed as the object approaches the screen.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, where displaying on the screen, in response tosensing movement via the display, the page data set corresponding to thedetection level in the movement detection range in accordance with thesensed movement further comprises displaying sequential page data setsthat one of gradually accelerate at a constant acceleration rate orgradually decelerate at a constant deceleration rate while advancingthrough page numbers.
 11. The method of claim 1, where the sensing ofthe movement in the vertical direction is performed by a sensorconfigured to detect movement in the vertical direction of an object inclose proximity to the screen, where the display is equipped with thesensor, and where the electronic document comprises a plurality ofsections, and further comprising detecting a presence of the object inthe movement detection range of the sensor, and where displaying thepage data set on the screen comprises displaying on the screen aninitial page data set of a section corresponding to the electronicdocument in accordance with a moving distance of the object in thevertical direction when the object is within the movement detectionrange of the sensor.
 12. The method of claim 11, where displaying on thescreen the initial page data set of the section comprises displaying theinitial page data set of the section displayed on the screen immediatelybefore sliding of the object within the movement detection range of thesensor in a predetermined direction.
 13. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising, after displaying the initial page data set of the section,displaying on the screen an additional page data set corresponding tothe section in accordance with the moving distance in the verticaldirection of the object.
 14. The method of claim 1, where the sensing ofthe movement in the vertical direction is performed by a pressure sensorconfigured to detect a pressure applied by an object in close proximityto the screen, where the display is equipped with the pressure sensorand the movement detection range comprises a range of applied pressures,and where displaying the page data set on the screen comprisesdisplaying on the screen the corresponding page data set of theelectronic document in accordance with the pressure of the object on thescreen.
 15. The method of claim 14, where the plurality of page datasets comprise a plurality of paginated units that are each extractedfrom the electronic document to fit within a display area of the screen.16. The method of claim 14, further comprising dividing the single unitof display data by the display size of the screen into the plurality ofpage data sets in accordance with reception of an instruction to dividethe single unit of displayable data, and assigning page numbers to theplurality of divided page data sets.
 17. A device for displaying anelectronic document, comprising: a memory configured to store theelectronic document as a single unit of display data divided by adisplay size of a screen into a plurality of page data sets; and aprocessor programmed to: use a display configured to sense movement of amovable object in a vertical direction relative to the screen and withthe display configured such that each of the plurality of page data setsof the electronic document is associated in a sequence with a respectivedifferent one of a plurality of detection levels within a movementdetection range of the display, where the display is configured by theprocessor being programmed to: divide a distance from a farthest extentof the movement detection range of the display to a surface of thescreen into a plurality of sequential equal detection distance intervalsequal in number to a number of the divided plurality of page data sets;establish each of the plurality of sequential equal detection distanceintervals as a respective different one of the plurality of detectionlevels within the movement detection range of the display with which arespective one of the plurality of page data sets of the electronicdocument is associated in the sequence; and configure the display suchthat sensing a movement from the farthest extent of the movementdetection range of the display closer to a mid-point of the plurality ofsequential equal detection distance intervals causes acceleration ofdisplay of different respective assigned ones of the divided pluralityof page data sets and sensing a movement from the mid-point of theplurality of sequential equal detection distance intervals closer to thesurface of the display causes deceleration of the display of differentrespective assigned ones of the divided plurality of page data sets;where the processor is further programmed to: display on the screen, inresponse to sensing movement via the display, a page data setcorresponding to a detection level in the movement detection range inaccordance with the sensed movement; and automatically adjust displayspeed changes while displaying different ones of the plurality of pagedata sets in accordance with a moving speed of the sensed movement. 18.A computer program product for displaying an electronic document,comprising: a computer readable storage medium having computer readableprogram code embodied therewith, the computer readable program codecomprising: computer readable program code configured to: obtain theelectronic document as a single unit of display data divided by adisplay size of a screen into a plurality of page data sets; use adisplay configured to sense movement of a movable object in a verticaldirection relative to the screen and with the display configured suchthat each of the plurality of page data sets of the electronic documentis associated in a sequence with a respective different one of aplurality of detection levels within a movement detection range of thedisplay, where the display is configured by the computer readableprogram code being configured to: divide a distance from a farthestextent of the movement detection range of the display to a surface ofthe screen into a plurality of sequential equal detection distanceintervals equal in number to a number of the divided plurality of pagedata sets; establish each of the plurality of sequential equal detectiondistance intervals as a respective different one of the plurality ofdetection levels within the movement detection range of the display withwhich a respective one of the plurality of page data sets of theelectronic document is associated in the sequence; and configure thedisplay such that sensing a movement from the farthest extent of themovement detection range of the display closer to a mid-point of theplurality of sequential equal detection distance intervals causesacceleration of display of different respective assigned ones of thedivided plurality of page data sets and sensing a movement from themid-point of the plurality of sequential equal detection distanceintervals closer to the surface of the display causes deceleration ofthe display of different respective assigned ones of the dividedplurality of page data sets; where the computer readable program code isfurther configured to: display on the screen, in response to sensingmovement via the display, a page data set corresponding to a detectionlevel in the movement detection range in accordance with the sensedmovement; and automatically adjust display speed changes whiledisplaying different ones of the plurality of page data sets inaccordance with a moving speed of the sensed movement.